Agreed times two. I still have chills about his performance at Hinterland last year!
Summer Concert Thread
- Thread starter JM4CY
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Agreed times two. I still have chills about his performance at Hinterland last year!
I maneuvered my way down to the very front for that, the only time I've ever gotten that close at a show except for SUPER tiny venues with low attendance. And it was just inspiring to see him work.
We had a funeral come up, so I'm missing it. I want to unload my e-ticket for Saturday, but I have no idea if I can just email it to someone to do so, if anyone is looking.
Thoughts and Prayers go out to everyone who went to Hinterland. Sturgill Simpson went out there and just slayed everyone in attendance. Sweet mother of God that was incredible.
I've never seen anything like it.
Sturgill was good. He and his band worked their asses off with the keyboardist out sick. But my favorite act of the day was Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats. They were absolutely electric.
We got there late and I missed Tyler Childers. Heard good things about his set.
Overall it was great. One of these years we're gonna get tagged with a sweltering August day, but it was picture perfect yesterday, especially after the sun started to set.
We got there late and I missed Tyler Childers. Heard good things about his set.
Overall it was great. One of these years we're gonna get tagged with a sweltering August day, but it was picture perfect yesterday, especially after the sun started to set.
Childers was great. Wheeler Walker Jr and Sturgill sat in with him. Set was about half covers, and his band was tight as a duck's ass.
I liked Margo Price better than I thought I would. Blackberry Smoke was just OK. Anderson East has crazy vocal range, but I wish they could have fixed the sound issues for his set.
Tyler Childers and Blackerry Smoke were exactly what I was expecting/hoping for. J Roddy surprised the hell out of me with how hard they rocked and that goes double for Margo. Nathaniel Rateliff absolutely blew me away and was likely the best live show I'd ever seen......up to that point. Sturgill was the main reason I made the drive yesterday and I was seriously doubting whether or not he could follow that up but he erased any doubts with just one song. My face will never be the same after that melting. I talked to a lot of people throughout the day who were pretty meh on Sturgill. That performance had to have changed their tune. Great day of live music capped off by a truly epic performance.
Awesome, absolutely awesome. I am done for today after experiencing all of yesterday. Nathaniel and Sturgil killed it. Wow, just wow.
I hadn’t thought I would be able to make it at all due to an unexpected funeral that came up, so I was surprised when I was able to make it for a couple of songs of Blackberry Smoke, Rateliff, and Sturgill. I had been previously super-excited for J Roddy and Margo Price so I was bummed to miss them - but oh my gosh did what I see make it worth the drive.
Rateliff was electric - I am a huge fan, and it was awesome to see that he delivers that same energy and intenseness live. I do prefer the album arrangement of “Howling At Nothing” as that version is a little more “wall of sound” or sock hop-stroll, but everything else surpassed all of my expectations.
Sturgill was an incredible surprise live. I enjoy his album stuff, but you can’t tell from that how he can just shred the guitar. The only better guitar player I have seen live is Gary Clark Jr live from last year (which is a show it will be hard for anyone to top for me). He was like if you combined George Strait’s voice with a legendary guitarist who just decided to straight-up shred the guitar for a couple hours. I ran into a buddy who was a little bummed Sturgill reworked all of his stuff so nothing was like on the album - but it is pretty hard to complain about having heard that. The only tiny thing I would change about his set wasn’t him - I didn’t love the mix they had going on with sound. They turned it up super-loud, which is fine - but it seemed like it distorted his guitar sometimes.
Rateliff was electric - I am a huge fan, and it was awesome to see that he delivers that same energy and intenseness live. I do prefer the album arrangement of “Howling At Nothing” as that version is a little more “wall of sound” or sock hop-stroll, but everything else surpassed all of my expectations.
Sturgill was an incredible surprise live. I enjoy his album stuff, but you can’t tell from that how he can just shred the guitar. The only better guitar player I have seen live is Gary Clark Jr live from last year (which is a show it will be hard for anyone to top for me). He was like if you combined George Strait’s voice with a legendary guitarist who just decided to straight-up shred the guitar for a couple hours. I ran into a buddy who was a little bummed Sturgill reworked all of his stuff so nothing was like on the album - but it is pretty hard to complain about having heard that. The only tiny thing I would change about his set wasn’t him - I didn’t love the mix they had going on with sound. They turned it up super-loud, which is fine - but it seemed like it distorted his guitar sometimes.
When people who don't know Sturgill ask me to describe him or compare him to somebody, I usually tell them he's like a mix of Eric Church, Dwight Yoakam and a hint of Cobain. After last night, I'd have to throw Hendrix into that mix. Shreds the living **** out of the guitar and makes it look like it couldn't be any easier.
I had no idea he could play like that. I was mentally comparing him to Prince - you didn’t know that he could just destroy it until you saw him live. You knew both were great artists, but you have to see it to believe it. And you are right - he just had fun, it didn’t seem like it was a job for him.
I like his albums, but I didn't know he could destroy the guitar that way either. It was just a helluva great night to listen to him jam.
Lost me here on any interest I had on pursuing Sturgill stuff.
I remember last year when I saw Jason Isbell, and was blown away that there was hardly a peep from the crowd when he broke into the first few notes of Decoration Day, and got my answer when I saw Eric Church shirts on the way out. Isbell's music has gotten less risky/expansive from a decade ago but I didn't realize it had gotten that safe.
Anyway--saw Ray Lamontagne a few weeks ago with Neko Case opening. Neko's set was more fun than what I saw a few years ago from her.
Ray was...fine? Always been hit and miss with me so wasn't too surprised. He basically played the same two songs all night and he's at his best when he's just playing a song without trying too hard to pour on the 'Ray Lamontagne' sound.
I would have been happy with whatever he chose to play, but Rateliff hit every song I was hoping to hear - You Worry Me, A Little Honey, S.O.B., and Babe I Know. I'm just happy for him that he finally made it in music. I remember seeing him way back when he was fronting another band back in 2008 opening for Mason Jennings at Peoples in Des Moines. Nice to see someone like that keep grinding and finally make it doing the kind of music that suits him so well.
I was very surprised at Sturgill's guitar skills, and evidently I wasn't the only one. A Sailor's Guide is such a full album that uses so many different instruments that I was worried about a three piece band's ability to pull it off live, but those were three very, very skilled musicians up there. Kudos for them for going on and killing it even with a band member out sick.
You won't pursue Sturgill stuff because some rando on a message board made a vague comparison you don't like? Seems like a weird reason to miss out on an amazing musician. The only reason I mentioned Church is because I think he and Sturgill have a similar vibe in that they don't fit the mold of the pop country **** we predominantly hear on the radio these days. They both sing about smoking weed and drinking and neither seem to give a **** what people think about it. The comparison ends there though because Sturgill is 100 times the musician Church is.
I'm not saying I WON'T, just deters me. I consider someone like Eric Church to be very much pop country...not as belligerent as the bro country like Jason Aldean or whatever but definitely there.
From what little I've heard of Simpson his songwriting is much more poignant and far reaching across several generations' sounds which is a good start. Would need more time...any suggestions?
