Friday night brought the Tedeschi Trucks Band (TTB) for the first of their consecutive nights at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre. It was a homecoming of sorts as the band makes their home in Georgia, but they continue on the road through September.
TTB brings a family of band, not in DNA but rather in familiarity, comfort and care. The 12 piece band certainly filled the stage, with the brass section at the back left (sax, trumpet, trombone), backup singers at the back right (plus acoustic guitar and occasional vocal leads), two drummers separating them, keyboards, bass and of course, the dual guitar threat of Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. When you bring a lot of sound, you have a lot of options, which they do as they mix blues, blues rock, R&B, funky soul, and occasional psychedelic or country sounds to the mix. Their general vibe might be “feel good” but that doesn’t mean the lyrics follow suit.
The band is almost always touring, but this tour supports their I Am the Moon releases from last year. These were inspired by Layla and Majnun, a Persian love story about a 7th Arabic poet and the woman he loves. There’s been a lot written about the theme of this poem in reviews of four albums the band released bimonthly last year. For this show, they featured four songs from that series.
“Ain’t That Something” (sung by keyboardist Gabe Dixon) was representative of much of the set, a solid R&B groove, accentuated by the brass, and engagement by the band at large. “Soul Sweet Song” is an beautiful song, and although about losing someone, carries the best of what we bring forward from knowing them. “Pasaquan” was a highlight, starting with a smooth guitar intro by Trucks with simple percussion, the vibe hinting at a lengthy, epic exploration to follow, which it did, including keyboard and drum solos.
Highlights included Tedeschi’s vocals and solo on “Voodoo Woman,” Tedeschi and Trucks trading dueling solos on “Outside Woman,” the general vibe of “Keep On Smilin’,” the slow burning blues of “Done Somebody Wrong,” and the set closer “Bound For Glory.” It’s not every song that features a sax and drum duet and a female backup singer that brings Steve Winwood’s soulfulness to mind. And the guitars of course. Always.
The encore included great two songs, but Dr. John’s “I Walk on Guilded Splinters” stood out as a live example of what a band can do with two drummers, each doing their thing but fitting together like lock and key.
Setlist and additional photos follow.
Setlist:
Encore:
