Son Volt, Jason Isbell Live!

Son Volt, Jason Isbell
Vic Theatre, Chicago
Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Jay Farrar, despite the country overtones on nearly everything he has recorded, gives the impression he’s all business. After Son Volt went on “hiatus” around 1999, he pursued his own goals as a solo artist, teeming with outside-the-box ideas. Bored, he reformed Son Volt only to sack the original members and recast it to his liking. His serious reputation didn’t falter Tuesday, either, as he stoicly and methodically worked through a two-hour set, rarely speaking or smiling.

First on the agenda was Son Volt’s new album, The Search (Transmit Sound/Legacy), which finds Farrar in an angrier mood. But even as nine of its tracks formed the opening salvo, it was slightly undercut by the band’s cold presence. “Automatic Society,” “Satellite,” and the title track all passed without a word to the crowd, which was only slightly less personable than the band’s own interaction with each other and their tireless guitar tech.

After throwing an “it’s nice to be back in Chicago” bone, Farrar kept focused through “Circadian Rhythm,” which tellingly offers the line “I can’t stand anymore indecision” — straying from the evening’s script would not be tolerated.

The benefit of this is Son Volt were extraordinarily tight. A miscue by the saxophonist brought onstage for “The Picture” wasn’t dealt with severely, but it didn’t loosen up Farrar any. It did, however, help buck the crowd when The Search‘s turn was over and Farrar started to travel backwards through Son Volt’s and his own solo catalog. The audience seemed to awaken immediately to “Jet Pilot,” and the crispness between Farrar and Brad Rice’s guitars were the reason for it. “Who” succeeded much the same.

A cameo from his Sebastapol one-man jaunt was a surprise, and the crowd appreciated “Barstow,” “Voodoo Candle,” and “Damn Shame” out of context, but they were nothing compared to the double shot of “Route” and “Drown” to close the set. A finally acknowledged audience was then greeted with “Windfall” during the encore, and joy ensued. Maybe the frontman will get the idea that all work and no play make Jay Farrar a dull boy.

A Son Volt concert is always appreciated in Chicagoland, and Farrar wears his icon status well as a former member of Uncle Tupelo and a major player in the rise of alt-country. But the most interesting aspect of Tuesday’s show was opener Jason Isbell, whose departure from Drive-By Truckers was just announced on Friday.

The split, described as inevitable and amicable by frontman Patterson Hood on the DBT Web site, finally puts Isbell in the company of musicians his own age. He was easily a dozen years junior the core members of his old band, and while his songs were the hearts of at least two albums during his five-year tenure, it was never a question Isbell would release a solo record — it just wasn’t known how “solo” it would be.

Armed with a drummer, bassist, and lead guitarist, the lessons he learned from Hood and Mike Cooley showed him giving his bandmates, The 400 Unit, all the space they needed. He paid tribute to the old band with a cover of Hood’s “The Assassin,” and gave some devotees near the front a taste of DBT classics “Goddamn Lonely Love” and “Never Gonna Change.” Of the tracks he proferred from the forthcoming Sirens Of The Ditch (New West, July 10th), the most promising was “Chicago Promenade” — no bias here — which he wrote on his way up to DBT’s New Year’s Eve shows at Schubas in 2002, just as the band were getting noticed. Its veiled nervousness is a problem no more.

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly