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Review of live perfomance - Son Volt at Disco Rodeo, Raleigh, NC - January 25, 2006 - by Christopher J. Dott

Units, Last night me and the chick went and saw Son Volt with Tift Merritt as the opener. The place, called Disco Rodeo (ouch), is a sort of converted warehouse -- a decent sized room with a balcony around three sides, good sound and a large stage with full lights. I'd seen Son Volt there many years back as well as the Black Crowes. And I'm happy to say that the place was fairly packed, although I get the feeling a lot of people were there to see Tift Merritt since she's from NC.

I'd heard a lot of good things about her, and as it turns out I'd seen her a few years back when she warmed up for Willie Nelson. Obviously she didn't leave much of an impression. Sad to say that her sound isn't that unique - as my bride says she sounds like a bunch of other chicks out there. One of the Dune Dogs who was present last night said she's gone too poppy and that she used to be more unique. Whatever, enough said about her...

Son Volt was loud, ultra-tight and their sound was excellent. They did a lot from their new record but also played a bunch from Trace, like Tear-Stained Eye, Route, Loose String, Wind Fall, Live Free and Drowned. He had four guys backing him, including a keyboardist. The lead guitarist who's from Raleigh also played with Tift Merritt. They were all mellow and business-like as you'd expect.

I've seen then three times and they've always been good, but I have to say I think this is the best they've sounded. Zero mistakes, very focused and a nice rhythm to the show. Jay Farrar was his usual talkative self -- at one point midway through he walked up to the mike and quietly said "thanks...". The bass player had to give him a cream soda after that. There was no talk between tunes to the crowd or between the band, just song after song done exceptionally well.

After a couple listens the new record hadn't really impress me much but I'm up for giving it another shot now (except that the lady has it in her car). Any of you citizens get the chance you should check out this tour. Tommy D, you might want to wait until Jay Farrar quits and gets replaced by Dee Snider.

And that's all I have to say about that.
- CD -

Review of live perfomance - Son Volt at the Trocadero Theater, Phila. PA - September 24, 1999 (happy anniversary!) - by Michael Portanova

Sometimes too much of a good thing is not always good. I've seen these guys 3 or 4 times already, including last new Years Eve, so I was a bit indifferent about this gig. But the Trocadero is my favorite venue and in my opinion the best in the area, so I found this gig hard to pass by.

It was an early show, started about 8:00, I missed all but the last song from the opener "Continental Drifters". They were inoffensive, 2 female fronts, at a glance cut from the same mold as the Jayhawks. Attendance was good, about 3/4 full.

Son Volt took the stage rockin'. No pedal steel guy, just the four regulars. They started with 4 or 5 full out crankers, with beer in hand my indifference faded quickly. I began to think that without a really new record to promote this would be the difference for this show - all rockers, no slow stuff. But this was not to be as the set took the obligatory down shift to the slow tunes - an energy killer but well played, meaningful and appreciated by the crowd. This didn't last long though - the set picked right up again with "Cemetery Savior", which despite the guitar players best efforts suffered from a severe lack of extra electric guitars. They followed with very inspired versions of "Drown" and "Route 5" and a blasting version of the opener on "Wide Swing Tremolo", complete with distorted vocals. Very cool. The set went about 90 minutes, including two encores which included a terrific "Wide Swing Tremolo" and two unrecorded but familiar tunes. The closer was the completely rockin' "Chicamunga" from the Uncle Tupelo days. A real crowd pleaser.

All in all a fine performance albeit a familiar one. The guitar player continues to impress, he would be in my all star band along with the drummer from Sugar. Seamless harmonies by the bass player and new/old/different guitars and amps for all spiced things up. Great sound as usual - their talent, equipment and the Troc sound system all responsible for that. Ironically, Farrars vocals where clearer live, I heard lyrics never understood on record. The crowd was enthusiastic as always, including some chippies which is always refreshing.

Sometimes a good thing is just good. Overall a fine evening. - MP


Review of live perfomance - Son Volt at The Ritz, Raleigh, N.C. - February 5, 1999 - by Christoper J. Dott

We went to see Son Volt this past Friday (2/5/99) at The Ritz in Raleigh. It was my third time seeing them and it was by far the best show yet. In the past, I've found Son Volt has tended to lean a bit too much toward the mellow side. This time, however, they came out with guns a-blazing and gave a cranking and extremely tight set.

I was at The Ritz last month to see the Black Crowes. It's a decent place to see a band, no seats, balcony around three sides, four or five bars (canned beer only) scattered around here and there, nice size stage. We got there at 9pm and the place was pretty much empty. My first thoughts were that nobody's interested and so they won't ever be playing this area again. Then the opener steps on stage. Just some big guy with a guitar and awful stage presence. Boring set, who cares. But by the time he was done, I wake up to see that the place is jam packed with citizens. Excellent.

They come on and start out with a few from the new record. They are so used to each other that the guy who starts each tune doesn't even glance around to see if the others are paying attention. It was almost like they were trying to catch each other off guard, but that never happened. They're so friggin tight. Jay was his usual subdued, non-speaking self and his vocals were right on. Bass player Jim Boquist added his usual perfect harmonies and his brother Dave provided great lead guitars, lap steel and fiddle parts.

Their set was a good mix of stuff off of the new and old records with some Tupelo thrown in here and there. The best was Tear Stained Eye which they did beautifully. Drown was ultra-cool also. Other parnts of note were the two closers of the main set, Route and this edgy, almost obnoxious cranker which didn't fit their style at all but was really cool anyway. They came back for three encores, totaling about five tunes.

All in all, it was an excellent show and they really seemed into it. I know this because at one point Jim Boquist almost smiled. The turn out and crowd reaction was huge. What more could you ask for...


Review of live performance - Son Volt at the Keswick Theater, Philadelphia, PA - New Years Eve, 12/31/98, by Michael Portanova:

Needless to say an odd booking for New Years Eve. I had nothing else going so how could I go wrong.

The Keswick is a classic 1930's theater, like Radio City but smaller and without the balconies. Recently restored to its original splendor (I love that word), it's a real nice place. They bring in the old favorites like BB King and Tony Bennet and sometimes more lively stuff like Cowboy Junkies, 10,000 Maniacs, Dar Williams, etc. Capacity is 1300, I'd say about 900 people showed up this night. A bar was set up in the lobby for our drinking pleasure. $2.75 Miller G.D. cans, ice friggin cold, not bad at all.

The opener was Kelly Joe Phelps, a solo singer songwriter story teller kind of guy. A mix of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Waits. Talented and fairly charismatic but ultimately boring and, sorry to say, forgettable.

Son Volt came on at about 10:15. No black tie event here...they dressed as usual except for the drummer who had on a white shirt and bolo string tie. Pretty cool. The usual set up except sans lap steel guy which was disappointing. The set featured most of the new record and several songs each from "Trace" and "Straightaways". Mostly up tempo and rockin but kind of subdued and with the obligatory slow part, which was well placed in the set and therefore not too much of a downer. The sound was excellent and at the perfect volume. The crowd was subdued until about the 1/3 point when they played "Driving the view" and the Son Volt Dancers (about 30 girls and a few guys) crowded to the front of the stage to dance! Dancing to Son Volt...if you live long enough you'll see anything. Party time. More and more people joined them until there was a veritable Son Volt mellow mosh pit. Festive and amusing if not a bit pathetic. They played 'til midnight, went off stage, the house guy counted down to New Year, there was a timid celebration (900 strangers together in a large room?), Son Volt came back on and played "Born to be wild" and then a few more to end around 12:30. The highlight was "Strands" from the new record and as usual "Chicamunga", complete with the Neil Young-ish extended Jay Farrar freak out contorted guitar solo. Very crankin indeed.

Overall a nice night but a bit lacking. Kind of like that party that never got off the ground. I don't blame this on the band. The place seemed cavernous for them, not helping were the 400 or so empty seats. The lap steel guy was missed during the slow tunes but otherwise they played a fine set. It was cold outside and cold inside, figuratively speaking. They're obviously not your typical New Years Eve Everybody Dance Now Party band, although the guitar player did say "happy new year" as he passed the mic - he needed a cream soda after that one. They seemed self conscious of their role as New Years Eve entertainers, I felt like they would've rather been sipping beers and shooting pool at the drummers house. Regardless, they played well, were warmly received and most seemed to have a fun night. And why not...a festive occasion, a nice place, cold beer, a comfy seat, room to spread out and cool sounds. - MP

unit 14 note: For those of you 14ers unfamiliar with Mikey P, he is best known for his extraordinary bass work on the Philadelphia music scene. He is also a cousin to the Dott (formerly of Purchase, N.Y.) family, but that's not really his fault. Thanks for your input, Mike. Hope to hear from you often in the future.