I’m still easing myself back into covering local shows.
I just returned from vacation on the Outlaw Country Cruise 7 on Tuesday, Feb. 28 and stuck around Calgary an extra day to hear Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, March 1 at the Jack Singer Concert hall who should be on the Outlaw Cruise and Kathleen Edwards, who definitely was one of the highlights of this year’s Cruise.
A good chunk of Lethbridge’s music scene took in the show.
Jason Isbell is modern outlaw country royalty who gets a lot of play on the Outlaw Country 60 station on Sirius XM, and used to be part of the Drive By Truckers, so I know him from those places.
I actually bought the ticket to see Kathleen Edwards, as I’d never seen her before. She was also one of the main reasons I signed up for Outlaw Country Cruise 7, but unfortunately missed half her opening set because parking and traffic is atrocious in downtown Calgary, especially when there‘s a big concert at the Jack Singer. I was almost just about to go home in frustration, but was glad I stuck it out, out of breath nonetheless.
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit is his rock and roll iteration, so that’s what a close to sold out crowd got— a cornucopia of grungy alt rockers and his more more nuanced, layered, introspective popular Isbell “hits” and should be hits.
“ 24 Frames,” was an early highlight. He followed that up with the first live performance of his new single “ Death Wish,” which the Outlaw Country station has just started to play.
I always love that.
He started mellow with “What’ve I Done To Help, ” “Hope the High Road” and the urgent “ It Gets Easier.”
He talked about coming up from Muscle Shoals , Alabama to “ freeze our asses off in Calgary,” and reminisced about some inebriated good times in Calgary from back in his drinking days.
I was waiting for a couple of my favourites, the greasy rocker “ Super 8,” and “ Overseas,” which has probably one of the best lines ever written about a dying small town “ This used to be a ghost town but even the ghosts got out and the sound of the highway died.” and heard them mid way through the show.
Isbell really is a poet who also plays a mean guitar. His band mates, drummer Chad Gamble, bassist Jimbo Hart, keyboardist Derry de Borja, who I couldn’t really hear and, as a bonus, lead guitarist drivin’ n’ cryin’s Sadler Vaden, were off the hook, embracing the multi-facetness of isbell’s extensive catalogue.
They played a couple acoustic sets, featuring a beautiful version of “Dreamsicle.”Isbell traded leads with Vaden.
Vaden sang lead on drivin n’ cryin’s “ Honeysuckle Blue,” which was awesome to see.
They were called back, eventually for an encore of “ If We Were Vampires” and “ Decoration Day.”
I’m glad I caught Ottawa born St. Petersburg , Florida based musician Kathleen Edwards on the boat multiple times, as I missed half of her set opening for Isbell, but caught “ Glenfern” from her new album “ Total Freedom” and a couple of her earlier hits. “ Six O’ Clock News,” “ I Make the Dough You Get the Glory” and “ In State,” I didn’t get to hear “ Back to Me,” which I was really looking forward to. She played fiddle on a couple of her more ambient, introspective songs. As a bonus, as he wasn't“t on the boat, Colin Cripps was playing lead guitar for her for this show.
— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor
