Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, and Other Good Stuff

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

17 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Anyone who hasn't seen a show at Preservation Hall needs to go.  Of course, it will be a while, but put it on your bucket list.  I think I paid something like $180 for four front-row tickets, and it was an absolute treat.  Great players, great room, and you're literally within arm's reach of the whole band.  The room itself is probably smaller than the Cactus Cafe.

And on a down note, one of their regulars tested positive for coronavirus the other day.  I can't find the news clip right now -- he's one of their tuba/sousaphone players.

I was stunned by how small it was.  I didn't get to go to a show there, but I was in the French Quarter right after Bowie did and got in real close to them (the band) during the parade in his honor.  So I've observed them play, and I've seen the building, but I haven't seen them play in the building.

Edited March 25, 2020 by Al_4_ISU

[stc 1,461]

it's been probably 15 years since i saw a midnight show at preservation hall, but i'm fairly certain i paid $10 a ticket. it was so impressive that i went 2 nights in a row. definitely highly recommended. 

[jimmyjazz 45,919]

1 hour ago, stc said:

it's been probably 15 years since i saw a midnight show at preservation hall, but i'm fairly certain i paid $10 a ticket. it was so impressive that i went 2 nights in a row. definitely highly recommended. 

Yeah, this was just a couple of years ago, and I paid the premium for front row, which I highly recommend.

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Kh6Nlhj94/?igshid=iydxxysouwcz&fbclid=IwAR0kDlYgINTVRRjcaxM-V2cTeT9V6w9_g2HNaGLHBBiUa1XO6sdz1KwFs-g

Edited March 25, 2020 by Al_4_ISU

[4th&Five 41,535]

Danny Clinch made this and for some reason it has never been released.  I got to see it at the SXSW premier and it's amazing.

[4th&Five 41,535]

 

[4th&Five 41,535]

 

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

That one's alright.  Far and away the best thing from this album so far.

[UTexasFight 9,432]

That one's alright.  Far and away the best thing from this album so far.

Agreed

[UTexasFight 9,432]

So during this whole COVID-19 stuff, Paste is highlighting various live concerts from their vault.
Isbell acoustic from 10/20/2011 at The Living Room in NYC (6 months after release of Here We Rest for reference)

I kinda miss pudgy/alcoholic Isbell....and I'd pay good money to see this setlist

Streetlights
Alabama Pines
Go It Alone
Goddamn Lonely Love
Daisy Mae
Tour of Duty

Edit: I see stc beat me to it

[4th&Five 41,535]

I was watching some videos from around the same time from The Saxon the other night.  I was lucky enough to be right off stage to his left that afternoon.  This was the first time I'd heard Go It Alone.  After the set I asked him if I could buy him a shot and he asked for vodka because "it's too damn early for Jack."

 

[cactusflinthead 27,598]

Not what I want to post in here.

 

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

God damn it

[Ten Bears 2,481]

Apparently He caught it from Fiona.  I am crushed.

[Ten Bears 2,481]

That's right.  I capitalized He.

[Seasick Sailor 3,747]

Prine is gone. not going to lie, this one really hurts. 

[Chad Fuck 17,675]

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=l0EiV423j0M&feature=share

So many good songs and so many funny lines.

[Ten Bears 2,481]

I am fucking crushed.  I can't listen to his music without bawling.  The man deserved better.

[4th&Five 41,535]

Fuck. 

 

Edited April 11, 2020 by 4th&Five

[jimmyjazz 45,919]

Well, he's apparently fine now, so bullet dodged.

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

Yeah, sounds like Sturgill's been past it for awhile.  Any disciple of DDSS knows he's been on his feet for a few weeks.

[4th&Five 41,535]

The crazy part is that he’s had it a month. 

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

The crazy part is that he’s had it a month. 

I thought you were still positive even if you’ve recovered?

[Stringer 1,438]

Maybe I missed this, but Amanda Shires has done a show on her Youtube channel every night for the last few weeks (I think 5pm CST).  Isbell joins her on some of them as well.

[Whitewater Horn 968]

1 hour ago, Stringer said:

Maybe I missed this, but Amanda Shires has done a show on her Youtube channel every night for the last few weeks (I think 5pm CST).  Isbell joins her on some of them as well.

I’ve been watching these since they started. It’s I called I So Lounging on Amanda’s YouTube channel. You can watch them live or the recorded episodes. They take requests and have covered people you would expect like John Prine and Leonard Cohen, but also things maybe you wouldn’t expect like Radiohead and Genesis. Of course they also do a lot of Amanda’s songs along with some of Jason’s and DBT stuff. It’s very causal and includes hilarious storytelling. If you’re a fan of Jason and Amanda and not already watching, it’s one of the best quarantine-specific streams going. 

[4th&Five 41,535]

 

[bluto 4,928]

I wanna get into those YouTube shows but the acoustics are just trash.

[4th&Five 41,535]

Very cool gesture 

 

[4th&Five 41,535]

 

[4th&Five 41,535]

 

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

I’m coming around to Dreamsicle and Only Children.

The first two are still fucking terrible

[4th&Five 41,535]

Same. Even though they both sound like 20 songs he’s already written. 

[Ten Bears 2,481]

Holy shit Lucinda. Didn't think you had it in you anymore.

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

The new American Aquarium album is fantastic. “Better South” is the same point Isbell was shooting for with “Be Afraid”, but it’s just a better song.

[4th&Five 41,535]

No surprise but Sturgill tour officially canceled. 

 

[Dry Elbows 142]

Fucking sucks.  I had tickets to the show in Sugar Land. 

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

Jason and Amanda are going to be on Trisha Yearwood’s cooking show.

This is probably the most telling sign that I’m no longer in his target demographic.

[jimmyjazz 45,919]

Trisha can sing, but her cooking show sucks.

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

She looks like she enjoys her own cooking quite a bit.

Never trust a skinny chef

[bluto 4,928]

She looks like she enjoys her own cooking quite a bit.

[4th&Five 41,535]

 

[Shoxthemonkey 1,977]

On 5/1/2020 at 5:00 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Trisha can sing, but her cooking show sucks.

Different strokes and all that, I rather enjoy it. Her older sis is quite alluring as well.

[tbone_ 14,118]

 

Pretty damn good.

[4th&Five 41,535]

 

[Seasick Sailor 3,747]

Independent station in Nashville is playing Reunions all the way through starting now:

 

[4th&Five 41,535]

album is sitting in my mailbox.  looking forward to spinning it tonight.

My review after the first listen: it’s definitely my least favorite of all his records. It’s not bad or anything it’s just the same sounds and themes we’ve heard for the last 7 years. 
 

Also, Letting You Go will be played at every damn wedding for the rest of time. 

Edited May 12, 2020 by 4th&Five

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

16 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

album is sitting in my mailbox.  looking forward to spinning it tonight.

My review after the first listen: it’s definitely my least favorite of all his records. It’s not bad or anything it’s just the same sounds and themes we’ve heard for the last 7 years. 
 

Also, Letting You Go will be played at every damn wedding for the rest of time. 

This is pretty much exactly what I expected.  He's found a formula, and he's mining it.

I can't blame him.  He's getting almost universal cock slurping from the critical community and clearly doing well for himself.  There isn't any incentive for him to change it up.

[tbone_ 14,118]

Anything that measures up to Last of My Kind? Love that tune.

[jimmyjazz 45,919]

6 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

This is pretty much exactly what I expected.  He's found a formula, and he's mining it.

Seems a little cynical.  What if he's just grown into his own voice?

His buddy John Prine didn't exactly break down a lot of barriers over the course of his career, and nobody criticizes him for that.

[Al_4_ISU 12,463]

Seems a little cynical.  What if he's just grown into his own voice?
His buddy John Prine didn't exactly break down a lot of barriers over the course of his career, and nobody criticizes him for that.

John Prine never got boring. And he had his lesser albums too.

I guess here’s the difference - I fell in love with John Prine as he sort of always was. John Prine was always the same artist at heart, and he kept taking on new looks at the world.

I fell in love with Isbell as a guitar slinging punch you in the gut redneck Shakespeare. When he cleaned up and fell in love, he made a gut wrenching emotional masterpiece. It was a change, but it was fucking real

He’s still writing those songs. Quiet, acoustic, polite. Little character sketches of characters and scenarios he’s imagined. Love and sobriety. People clearly prefer this iteration of Jason Isbell to the fire breathing tortured genius. He’s giving his audience what they want. Maybe it’s what he wants to give them. More of the last few albums will always feel like something short of what he could do to me.