It takes something pretty special to transform a room as pristine as Philadelphia’s World Café Live into a loud, sweaty rock club, but Jason Isbell managed to do just that.
Among the largest places Isbell will play during this tour, the World Café surely wasn’t at capacity last Friday. Yet it’s hard to imagine another single joule of energy in the room. Isbell himself even took notice—thanking the crowd for bringing the show to another level, the way only a full house usually can. And Isbell needed the pick-me-up. Just a week into a two-month tour, Isbell was already liberally spraying Chloraseptic down his throat, trying to stave of a combination of fatigue and fever.
But it was the guitar licks traded between Isbell and 400 Unit guitarist Browan Lollar that caused the mercury to rise through the roof. Not being a longtime Drive-By Truckers’ fan, what excited me the most—aside from Lollar’s lead vocals on the David Byrne classic “Psycho Killer"—was the effortless guitar interplay between the two. Both extremely skilled at their craft, they jam and play to the crowd with incredible ease.
At this lunchtime radio concert for Philly’s WXPN, Isbell and his 400 Unit didn’t stray from their newly released self-titled album—very much a Muscle Shoals record, replete with plenty of high-hats and hopping horns. At one time, Jason implored the crowd to come back in the evening “if you want to hear the old stuff.” The band held up its end of the bargain, delighting the loyal crowd with two of Isbell’s Drive-By Truckers classics, and others from his solo debut Sirens of the Ditch, mixing in the Talking Heads cover along with versions of Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” and the Heartbreaker’s “American Girl.”
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit: (Official / MySpace)
Stimulate some wallets! Purchase: Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit | Sirens of the Ditch
DOWNLOAD: Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - Seven-Mile Island (MP3) or Follow us for more Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit MP3s (Twitter)
Morrissey + Doll and the Kicks - 11/30
Roseland Theater
Portland Cello Project - 12/4
Aladdin Theater
Passion Pit - 12/7
The Crystal Ballroom
way to get good pics out of the doug fir! that’s a tall order.
by colin on Mon Nov 30, 2009 at 02.29 pm from the entry: Russian Circles + Young Widows - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR; Nov. 17, 2009)
WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW
by sincerious on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 11.28 am from the entry: Ginuwine's "Pony" Deconstructed Through Dubstep (Remix)
LOL I love the accent.
by Vicente E. on Sun Nov 29, 2009 at 04.26 am from the entry: We Were Promised Jetpacks - "These Four Walls" - Buy It
Chopin and Òlafur Arnalds aren’t even really worth a comparison. Their music is nothing alike.
by sylviadarling on Sat Nov 28, 2009 at 07.22 pm from the entry: Òlafur Arnalds - "Found Songs" - Borrow It
glad everybody is diggin’ it. And Dre Ja Vu, send us your mixes when you’re done. If they are good we’ll post one.
by Colin on Sat Nov 28, 2009 at 05.49 pm from the entry: Ginuwine's "Pony" Deconstructed Through Dubstep (Remix)
There was definitely a guy surfing in a wheelchair. I tried to capture it with my camera, but it was a total blur. He came over the barricade 3 times. The first time, he came over AFTER his wheelchair.
by Jill Rachel on Fri Nov 27, 2009 at 03.24 pm from the entry: Motorhead + Reverend Horton Heat + Nashville Pussy - Showbox Sodo (Seattle, WA; Oct. 02,2009)
Sick I was mixing the original in my dubstep mixes, but this just kicks it up. Thank you!!!
by Dre Ja Vu on Thu Nov 26, 2009 at 09.13 pm from the entry: Ginuwine's "Pony" Deconstructed Through Dubstep (Remix)
