Robert Randolph introduced a generation of live music fans to the sound of Sacred Steel, that of the pedal steel guitar. Dating back to his performances at The Wetlands at the turn of the 21st Century and leading through the first two Bonnaroos and the rest of the past decade, through Randolph the legacy of a classic sound has found its way into the live music lexicon and numerous festivals at an increasing pace. With The Slide Brothers, presented by Robert Randolph, the sound of the Sacred Steel is brought to light by four impressive and iconic Sacred Steel players: Calvin Cooke, Aubrey Ghent, Chuck Campbell and Darick Campbell. On a balmy Friday night in Saratoga Springs, all but Darick took the stage for a rare treat; multiple pedal steel players rocking out on gospel and blues numbers dating back to the turn of the past century.
Opening for The Slide Brothers was Danielle Miraglia from Boston, a true Delta blues guitarist. With just an acoustic guitar and a hollow wooden riser nicknamed ‘Stompy’, she kicked her heel for the beat and played mesmerizing guitar on “Meet Me in the Morning”, a requisite off Dylan’s Blood on the Tracks. Later, two songs stood out among an enjoyable set, a soulful “It Hurts me Too” and “No One’s Listening.” The latter of the two had the opposite effect, as a rapt crowd focused on the gorgeous singer and her powerful vocals. She brought to mind an early Sheryl Crow, with potential for pop appeal based on her songwriting and performance. Check out one of her songs below.
After a spell of tuning, Ghent, Cooke and Chuck Campbell sat left to right in front of Phil Campbell on bass and Carlton Campbell on drums, both nephews of Chuck. The crowd moved closer to the stage as the band jammed out an instrumental “Jewel” with pace and patience. The night’s second version of “It Hurts Me Too” was soulful and layered. “Catch That Train” had deep guttural vocals from Ghent backed by middle Cooke along with Phil, whose bass was thick and Wooten-esque. While Aubrey Ghent’s steel guitar had a traditional sound, Calvin Cooke’s has a slight bit of reverb on it, making it stand out among the three; Chuck Campbell’s sound was so sharp it could slice right through the air with every slide of the left hand.
Calvin Cooke took the soulful blues route and sang a powerful “The Sky is Crying”, while Ghent and Campbell combined for a tandem duet as the two carried the beat as Cooke sang, hitting the high notes on the steel. The greatest moment of the night came with a base layer of “Green Onions” ilk, leading to a long, slow building instrumental of slide guitar jamming that extended for 20 minutes in the form of “Help me Make it Thru.”
A finale of “Don’t Let the Devil Ride” and “I’ll Just Wave my Hand” had truly deep bass to accompany the soul driven vocals of Aubrey Ghent. After a short walk off stage, the band returned for an encore initiated by oom-paa drum beats to work a jam into “When the Saints Go Marching in”, complete with a call and response as the crowd sang along with the band. To see a pedal steel player is one thing, to see three and dance to the layered rhythms is another. Great thanks goes out to Robert Randolph for assembling The Slide Brothers.
Setlist: Jewel, It Hurts me Too, Catch That Train, Don’t Keep Me Wondering, What Happen to Them, The Sky is Crying, Wade in the Water, Help Me Make it Thru, Don’t Let the Devil Ride, I’ll Just Wave My Hand
Encore: When the Saints go Marching In
The crowd was comprised of many first timers seeing Huey Lewis and the News, even the older folks in the crowd who would have been fans in the 80’s yet still hadn’t seen the band perform previously, all while growing up with the music. Around the crowd was an usher holding an old-timey hand-held xylophone that signaled it was time to find seats and the show was about to begin, marking the historical nature of the venue and adding to the experience that is Tarrytown Music Hall.
When “I Want a New Drug” was torn into by Stef Burns, the crowd raised their voices in approval, cheering on yet another classic track off just the front side of Sports. Following the song, Huey took a moment to mention how back when the album first came out, there were “No cell phones, no files, no Internet,” and admired how things have changed, looking out into a crowd with shining rectangles glowing back on the faces of the fans. He continued, “That was the video side of Sports. We’re gonna rock a little harder on side two.” And with that, Huey dedicated “Walkin’ on a Thin Line” to veterans, with its memorable line, “Straight off the front line, take a look at my face, see what it’s doing to me.”
Holding the microphone stand low as he walked around the stage, Huey exuded stage presence like a boss, leaning down at one point to accept flowers from a young fan in between “Finally Found a Home” and “If This is It”. The horns, Marvin McFadden on trumpet, Rob Sudduth on tenor sax and Johnnie Bamont on baritone sax, took a short break for these numbers and “You Crack me Up”, before returning to the stage during “Honky Tonk Blues.”
After a taste of the new Huey song, we got a taste of the past, starting with “Perfect World”, off the Small World album from 1988, followed by the first song the group wrote together, “Trouble in Paradise”, a rarity that many in the crowd seemed to be hearing for the first time. Yet as the horns were fired up, the crowd stood up, clapping and dancing in their seats, and a few fans in the aisles as well; Sean Hopper’s keys rang out most notably in this number. With the hits cranking out, the band moved onto “It’s Alright”, leading a sing-along with the sold out audience, followed by another seemingly rare tune “Long Time, Good Time.”