Jason Isbell - Something More Than Free 7/17

[lotusamerica]

The not-quite-from-the-heart songs may not rise to the top level of Jason's songwriting, but that seems about the same to me as putting Grand Canyon alongside most of Patterson's other songs on English oceans. I still want both of them to write and those other songs are good for the mind even when they don't always necessarily come straight from the heart. I'll take Palmetto Rose and Pauline Hawkins, even Life You Chose and When He's Gone, over most things other people are writing.

[Cole Younger]

Listened to SMTF yesterday for the first time in a pretty good while. I'm one of the ones that liked it when it came out and I was surprised at how good it sounded after a break from it. I think this one is going age much better with me than Southeastern did. I still think Southeastern is a great record but after really loving it after its release I rarely find myself reaching for it. To me this one gets better over time.

[Vincent]

Listened to SMTF yesterday for the first time in a pretty good while. I'm one of the ones that liked it when it came out and I was surprised at how good it sounded after a break from it. I think this one is going age much better with me than Southeastern did. I still think Southeastern is a great record but after really loving it after its release I rarely find myself reaching for it. To me this one gets better over time.

Interesting. I'm 100% the other way. The only tracks that I care for on this album are the up-tempo ones. Probably why I passed on the upcoming '16 Summer shows.

[Cole Younger]

Listened to SMTF yesterday for the first time in a pretty good while. I'm one of the ones that liked it when it came out and I was surprised at how good it sounded after a break from it. I think this one is going age much better with me than Southeastern did. I still think Southeastern is a great record but after really loving it after its release I rarely find myself reaching for it. To me this one gets better over time.

Interesting. I'm 100% the other way. The only tracks that I care for on this album are the up-tempo ones. Probably why I passed on the upcoming '16 Summer shows.

I'm going to see him and Merle Haggard. Pretty excited.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

I've been hesitant to see him since he graduated to the larger venues but when a ticket to his show at DPAC in Durham (with Anderson East) found it's way into my hands thanks to a friend recently, I didn't turn it down. Personally, I enjoyed the show way more than I was expecting to and was tickled to death to see him up there. Next time, I won't give it a second thought. One of the first times I ever saw him play with the Truckers was at a house show in Durham (Pine Hill Farm) so that lent some extra gravity to the evening for sure. A friend that put on shows out there was standing right behind me at the show. It was quite a joy to think back to those days and to see Jason headlining at DPAC. We definitely relished in the moment.

[Cubfan06]

I've been hesitant to see him since he graduated to the larger venues but when a ticket to his show at DPAC in Durham (with Anderson East) found it's way into my hands thanks to a friend recently, I didn't turn it down. Personally, I enjoyed the show way more than I was expecting to and was tickled to death to see him up there. Next time, I won't give it a second thought. One of the first times I ever saw him play with the Truckers was at a house show in Durham (Pine Hill Farm) so that lent some extra gravity to the evening for sure. A friend that put on shows out there was standing right behind me at the show. It was quite a joy to think back to those days and to see Jason headlining at DPAC. We definitely relished in the moment.

Interesting to read your experience. My first Truckers show was late '03 I believe at The Abbey Pub in Chicago in support of Decoration Day. I also have seen every Chicago Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit show in the Chicago area since his first solo tour (Maybe 3rd solo show ever) at the Beat Kitchen.
My wife and I caught JI and the 400 Unit with Shovels and Rope at the fairly massive Chicago Theatre on Saturday night. My feelings were very mixed on the experience. Shovels and Rope were a great supporting act. JI and the 400 Unit sounded great and it was so gratifying to see the guys not only make it to the big stage but sell it out in short order, when they frustratingly played to some undersold rooms early on. I didn't love the crowd though. Never Gonna Change and Decoration Day are not songs that are meant to be sat down to. And when I moved from my second row seat to an aisle to stand up and rock out a couple other patrons complained to security which ushered me back to my seat twice. I wasn't obstructing anybody's view. I'm okay with sitting down for the mellow songs. Shit I may be the world's biggest pussy 37 year old, since I own 7 Dan Fogelberg albums on vinyl. There is a time to rock and a time to be mellow. I understand that. I understand that you don't make that quantum leap to success, without your audience changing a little bit. I love Southeasterm and Something more Than Free has really grown on me. I feel though with seeing 3 shows on those two albums, I'm unfortunately going to hang it up from seeing JI and the 400 Unit live for a while. I'll still buy his albums and heavily cheer for his success from the sidelines.
With two kiddos, work, and life I only have the luxury of making it to about 8-10 shows per year. I just don't know that I'm going to make JI and the 400 Unit one of those for a little while if the shows around me continue to be seated theater shows. It's no knock on the songs or the artists, but given my lack of opportunities to personally see shows, I don't think I'll pick one of his at this moment. The crowd was lackluster and the show felt a bit contrived.

[Duke Silver]

I saw Jason and the 400 Unit last November and thought it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. The subdued crowd didn't bother me; I have an 18-month old, so the only thing I enjoy more than a rock show these days is the opportunity to sit motionless for a couple of hours.

[Iowan]

Last time I saw JI & The 400 Unit was sometime between SE and SMTF. It was good, but sterile. Like Cubfan, my show-going opportunities are at a major premium and Jason has admittedly fallen off the "must see" list. I don't know if the setlist thing is some kind of personal control/routine item tied to sobriety (in which case I understand), but - and I know this sounds silly - just knowing he has the same set every night is a turn off in and of itself.

[Cole Younger]

Last time I saw JI & The 400 Unit was sometime between SE and SMTF. It was good, but sterile. Like Cubfan, my show-going opportunities are at a major premium and Jason has admittedly fallen off the "must see" list. I don't know if the setlist thing is some kind of personal control/routine item tied to sobriety (in which case I understand), but - and I know this sounds silly - just knowing he has the same set every night is a turn off in and of itself.

I think I know what you mean. I was talking to RolanK during Homecoming and we started talking about Jason. He told me about going to see Jason play and describing the differences between a 400 Unit show and a Truckers show. He told me that while Truckers shows are intense and almost chaotic at times, a Jason show is very controlled. Another friend described it in almost the exact same way a few months ago. He went to see Jason with Sturgill Simpson opening. He said Sturgill pretty well stole the show from Jason. He said Jason put on a good show but it was felt very tight and as if he was sticking to a formula he had made for himself. I suspect these are all part of a set of rules he placed on himself as a way to maintain sobriety. I have to admit that I don't like the same set list every night thing either. And I'm not crazy about what I hear about Jason's new audience. My buddy told me most of the people he talked to at the show didn't even know who the Truckers are.

[Duke Silver]

My experience with Sturgill was very different than your friend's. He didn't say more than a couple of words between songs, the band stared straight ahead the whole time and never cracked a smile, they played songs from the albums note for note then left. Granted it was a festival set, but still. Jason's band might be polished to a fault, but compared to SS they were practically a jam band.

[Iowan]

My experience with Sturgill was very different than your friend's. He didn't say more than a couple of words between songs, the band stared straight ahead the whole time and never cracked a smile, they played songs from the albums note for note then left. Granted it was a festival set, but still. Jason's band might be polished to a fault, but compared to SS they were practically a jam band.

See, my buddy went to see SS at First Ave the last time he played there, and was just blown away. The Estonian guitar player was just shredding like crazy.

And this is coming from a guy whose social life revolves around smoking weed, drinking good beer and going to concerts. I tend to hold his taste and musical impressions quite highly. I'm thinking they must approach festivals quite differently than clubs.

[Iowan]

Last time I saw JI & The 400 Unit was sometime between SE and SMTF. It was good, but sterile. Like Cubfan, my show-going opportunities are at a major premium and Jason has admittedly fallen off the "must see" list. I don't know if the setlist thing is some kind of personal control/routine item tied to sobriety (in which case I understand), but - and I know this sounds silly - just knowing he has the same set every night is a turn off in and of itself.

I think I know what you mean. I was talking to RolanK during Homecoming and we started talking about Jason. He told me about going to see Jason play and describing the differences between a 400 Unit show and a Truckers show. He told me that while Truckers shows are intense and almost chaotic at times, a Jason show is very controlled. Another friend described it in almost the exact same way a few months ago. He went to see Jason with Sturgill Simpson opening. He said Sturgill pretty well stole the show from Jason. He said Jason put on a good show but it was felt very tight and as if he was sticking to a formula he had made for himself. I suspect these are all part of a set of rules he placed on himself as a way to maintain sobriety. I have to admit that I don't like the same set list every night thing either. And I'm not crazy about what I hear about Jason's new audience. My buddy told me most of the people he talked to at the show didn't even know who the Truckers are.

I've suspected this as well, and it's why I don't want to come off like I'm bashing it too hard. It just takes some of the fun out of for me as a fan, and informs how I allocate my concert attendance.

[Duke Silver]

My experience with Sturgill was very different than your friend's. He didn't say more than a couple of words between songs, the band stared straight ahead the whole time and never cracked a smile, they played songs from the albums note for note then left. Granted it was a festival set, but still. Jason's band might be polished to a fault, but compared to SS they were practically a jam band.

See, my buddy went to see SS at First Ave the last time he played there, and was just blown away. The Estonian guitar player was just shredding like crazy.

And this is coming from a guy whose social life revolves around smoking weed, drinking good beer and going to concerts. I tend to hold his taste and musical impressions quite highly. I'm thinking they must approach festivals quite differently than clubs.

Musically it was a great show, and the Estonian dude was on fire. But in terms of being polished and sterile, it was in the same ballpark as JI. Definitely not in the DBT realm.

[Kudzu Guillotine]

Though somewhat inevitable and understandable, it's not really fair to compare Isbell and DBT as they're two entirely different beasts. While it may not have been that noticeable on Decoration Day, it was more than evident by the time of A Blessing And A Curse that there were some pretty major musical differences occurring. Even prior to this most recent rise in popularity Jason's shows were polished. I also have issues with the setlist being the same night in and night out but if I'm only seeing one show on a tour (no matter the artist), it doesn't really bother me. When it comes to that, I may be a bit spoiled as quite a few of my favorite artists like to mix it up not just for the fans but also to keep it exciting for themselves. I've usually only caught Jason once per tour, I doubt that changes no matter the level of success he reaches. As for the fans he's attracting now, that doesn't really come as any surprise. I can remember people complaining on the old DBT's Yahoo Groups list when fans in khakis and sandals started showing up at their concerts. I guess I can see where that might rub folks the wrong way but it's also something that's simply going to happen the more well known an artist becomes. I'm certainly not going to get bent out of shape because they're not aware of Jason's past or how his fans are dressed. I'm mainly just happy to see him enjoying his well deserved success. This is much better than drunk Jason. If he had continued down that path no telling where (or if) he would be now. The insularity from fans that revolves around this sort of surge in popularity is more off putting to me.