Some early evening power outages on night two of Tedeschi Trucks Band (TTB) at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) were no match for the electrifying blues of Susan Tedeschi’s voice and her husband Derek Trucks’ nuclear-in-scale slide guitar talents.
The lights went out in the middle of rootsy singer songwriter Margo Price’s set and briefly delayed the start of boogie-rock legends Little Feat, but the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s two hour-plus set, which ran the gamut of American musical traditions, went off without the slightest technical difficulty on Saturday, August 31.
This, the second of two SPAC shows on the Deuces Wild Tour, leaned heavily on the blues with a good measure of going-to-church gospel as well. TTB’s 14-song set, which showcased each of its 12 members’ musical personalities, kicked off with a trio of originals: “High & Mighty” set the tone for the evening featuring Tedeschi’s whiskey-smooth vocals and the first helping of a Derek Trucks slide solo. “Ain’t That Something”, a standout cut off of 2022’s epic “I Am The Moon” put keyboardist/vocalist Gabe Dixon and his blue-eyed soul vocals into the spotlight, but it was Tedeschi who stole the moment with an incredible overdriven solo.
“Hear My Dear” reached a rocking crescendo when Tedeschi and a trio of background vocalists continued to sing the chorus as Trucks lit into a fiery solo that imitated the human voice, lifting the sound of the three singing voices exponentially until it sounded every bit as strong as a massive choir.
In their cover of Bob Dylan’s “Meet Me In The Morning”, Trucks channeled the slide guitar sound of Elmore James and then he ditched the slide for more traditional fingerstyle playing, and B.B. King’s tone in “Part of Me”, reminding the audience that he’s far more than just a “slide guitarist”. Kebbi Williams’ ska-inspired sax solo also indicated that in TTB, you might well start a song in one genre and end in another depending on who has the next solo.
Vocalist extraordinaire Mike Mattison has long been a foil for the fretwork of Derek Trucks, dating back to the Derek Trucks Band days. His star turn on a gospelized Prince’s “1999” (almost unrecognizable to these ears until I caught the iconic lyrics) was a perfect tune for the last day in August – summer concert season is winding down, but TTB is still partying like it’s 1999.
On “Idle Wind”, Trucks transformed yet again. On his most inventive slide solo of the night he was in turn John Coltrane and Ali Akhbar Khan, alternating lines that sounded like the cry of a horn with runs that are far more often heard in Indian ragas than amphitheater blues rock.
A friend and I were recently discussing the incredible ability Trucks has of “interrupting the narrative” in TTB’s relatively conventional original songs. In what could almost pass as an adult contemporary number, the band builds dynamic energy behind Trucks and he launches into a litany of dirty blues, free jazz, a child crying, a saxophone wailing, a bird in flight – sometimes all within a few measures.
While it can sometimes feel like the songwriting is merely a vehicle for one of the finest touring live bands on the planet to launch into a succession of solos, TTB’s greatest gift may be in choosing its cover songs. They have it down to a science. Coming out of a lengthy drum solo, the band played five covers dovetailed incredibly well together. Powerhouse vocalist Alecia Chakour channeled her inner Aretha for “Ain’t Fair”. Then, The Allman Brothers Band’s “Dreams” featured excellent vocals by Dixon and Tedeschi and was a chance for a card-carrying former Allman Brothers Band member in Trucks to channel his childhood idol Duane Allman in yet another attack of the guitar tone clone.
Trucks exited the stage and his wife led a stripped down TTB in a bluesy mashup of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” into the Garcia/Hunter classic “Sugaree”. A friend in the crowd made a valid point – is there any Upstate New York music fan who doesn’t like the songs “Dreams”, “Angel From Montgomery”, and “Sugaree”? We certainly like our Allmans, Prine, and Dead in these parts, so credit to TTBs setlist researchers for the construction of that portion of the set.
With Joe Tex’s 1967 soul hit “Show Me” the horn section was finally turned loose, as was vocalist Mark Rivers, who, had he been a musician in the 1960s, may well have been a Stax legend. At this point, TTB was in full soul revue mode, a-la the great Ray Charles bands of the 50s and 60s.
Perhaps in a nod to the whole “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” Joe Cocker tour similarities, TTB encored with Leon Russell’s “Stranger In A Strange Land”. Joined on stage by Margo Price & The Price Tags, Tedeschi and Price alternated verses triumphantly as the night came to a close and I found myself wandering through the relatively empty, but beautiful park, hoping TTB and company had indeed put me back “on the human track”.
Living legends Little Feat wasted no time firing off a succession of stone cold classics in their set, even if they were delayed by short power outage. Keyboardist Bill Payne lit into the familiar riff of “Fat Man In The Bathtub” as though he was firing a starter’s pistol, and the hits kept on coming. The atmospherically spooky “Spanish Moon” established Lowell George stand-in Scott Sharrard as a remarkable talent. Sharrard nails both George’s unusual vocal cadence and his thin slide guitar tone. A member since 2020, Sharrard’s youth seems to buoy the veterans of the band in the same way Mayer and Oteil inject life into Bobby and Mickey.
“Willin’” was a wave your lighter singalong of the first order, and while that was the moment a lot of the crowd was waiting for it was a new tune, “Mellow Down Easy” that brought down the house in what was the biggest audience reaction to anything all night.
The song is off of Little Feat’s new record Sam’s Place which is named both for percussionist Sam Clayton (who sings all the songs on the record) and Sam Phillips, the famous owner of Sun Studios in Memphis, where the Feat recorded the LP. Clayton’s Howlin’ Wolf-inspired vocals encouraged the crowd, but it was the incendiary harmonica playing of special guest Michael LoBue that worked the crowd into a frenzy and out of their seats.
Just when you thought it couldn’t get much better, Tedeschi and Trucks walked out on stage and the band kicked off “Dixie Chicken”. Hearing Trucks play such an iconic riff was all a music nerd such as myself could ask for – I could have left right after it and gone home a happy man. I deserved nothing more. But hearing Susan Tedeschi sing a verse of “Dixie Chicken” was icing on the…chicken, I guess. Fred Tackett’s chunky sounding Fender was a nice pairing with Sharrard’s smooth-as-butter Gibson sound. The guitar feast was bountiful and I was thankful the group served up “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now” in supergroup formation as well. There’s always something special about watching legends and torchbearers working together to make a crowd of thousands boogie.
Margo Price kicked off the music marathon with an 11-song set that ran the gamut in styles from Americana to bluesy psychedelia, outlaw country to Nashville honky tonk.
Price broke news early in the set that she and her band The Price Tags are set to return to Saratoga Springs as they will be joining the Farm Aid lineup on September 21. Until Saturday, Price had not officially been announced as part of the lineup, even though she has a history as a Farm Aid board member and has worked as a collaborator with Willie Nelson.
Price is an excellent frontwoman with a powerful voice that reminds me at times of both Loretta Lynn and Emmylou Harris. She’s joined by a crack band of Nashville talent, particularly her husband Jeremy Ivey who plays rhythm guitar and harmonica, keyboardist Micah Hulscher who had some of the finest B3 playing of the night, and Telecaster-master Jamie Davis.
“Been to the Mountain” from her album Strays and “Four Years of Chances” from Midwest Farmer’s Daughter were early set highlights for both the musicianship of the tight band and for the clever wordplay in Price’s lyrics.
An excellent take on the Grateful Dead-influenced “Tennessee Song” gave way to the very bluesy “Don’t Wake Up”, but the highlight of the set was a rousing “Change of Heart” into the traditional “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”. Just as Davis ripped into his solo, the power went out, making this writer wonder just what kind of God would choose guitaris-interruptus as a way to go all Old Testament on us? It got a little spooky Unsolved Mysteries at SPAC for a few minutes there. The lights came back on, but Price’s mic kept going in and out. Instead of getting frustrated, she hopped into the first row and led the crowd in a tambourine clap-along until the scurrying sound dudes fixed the problem and Price and company finished their fine opening set.
The 5 pm rain, and probably the whole end of summer Labor Day weekend thing, certainly seemed to limit the attendance on Saturday, but those that showed up saw the very best value menu you’re going to get at SPAC. And when I left my seat to go out to the lawn, it was crowded, but not oversold. It was comfortable and people were having fun. Nearly five hours of bluesy music was the perfect way to end August.
And since a new school year is just around the corner, it has me hopeful that new generations will keep hearing the music of The Allman Brothers, or Little Feat, or Susan Tedeschi and Margo Price. The crowd skewed a bit older for sure, with one man a few rows ahead of me raising his cane in the air and swaying it during the TTB encore like a baton.
But, what gives me hope is that TTB hasn’t taken a contract as The Late Show band (they certainly would be a great one). They’re a touring unit of the first order and they hit the road hard, proselytizing the blues and the American rock n’ soul standard songbook at every show. They’re using their powers for good and I sincerely hope they keep coming back to SPAC every summer to spread the gospel.
Saturday August 31 Tedeschi Trucks Band Setlist: High & Mighty, Ain’t That Something, Hear My Dear, Meet Me In the Morning (Bob Dylan cover), Part of Me, 1999 (Prince Cover), Idle Wind, Ain’t Fair (Aretha Franklin Cover), Dreams (Allman Brothers Cover), Angel From Montgomery (John Prine Cover) > Sugaree,(Grateful Dead Cover), Show Me (Joe Tex Cover), Just Won’t Burn, Made Up Mind
Encore: Stranger In A Strange Land (Leon Russell cover w/ Margo Price & The Price Tags)
Little Feat Setlist: Fat Man In The Bathtub, All That You Dream, Spanish Moon, Willin’, Mellow Down Easy (w/ Michael “The Bull” LoBue on harmonica), Dixie Chicken (w/ Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks), Feats Don’t Fail Me Now (w/Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks)
Saturday August 31 Margo Price & The Price Tags Setlist: All The Tired Horses (Bob Dylan Cover), Been To The Mountain, About To Find Out, Four Years of Chances, Never Say Die, Tennessee Song, Don’t Wake Me Up, Change of Heart > God’s Gonna Cut You Down (cut short by power outage), County Road, Do Right By Me, A Little Pain
Friday August 30 Tedeschi Trucks Band Setlist: Anyhow, I’ve Got a Feeling (The Beatles cover), Circles ‘Round the Sun, Let Me Get By, Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan cover, TTB live debut), Do I Look Worried, I Feel So Bad (Chuck Willis cover), Smoke Ring Halo (The Wood Brothers cover), I Want More > Beck’s Bolero (Jeff Beck cover), I Walked on Guilded Splinters (Dr. John cover), Keep On Growing (Derek and the Dominos cover, with Anders Beck) > That Did It (Bobby “Blue” Bland cover), Bound for Glory
Encore: Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Bob Dylan cover, with Margo Price), Let’s Go Get Stoned (The Coasters cover, with Margo Price)
