Concert review: Jason Isbell doesn’t avoid the tough subjects during his Charlotte show
Jason Isbell kicked off his first show since playing the Democratic National Convention almost three weeks ago with a timely statement at Ovens Auditorium Thursday that would have fit right in at the DNC.
With its undercurrent of hope and activism, “Save the World” — which addresses hopelessness and specifically parental fear in the wake of seemingly endless gun violence — made for both a sobering and rollicking intro for a show that didn’t shy away from difficult topics.
“King of Oklahoma” tells an all too familiar American story of a man whose Oxycontin addiction spirals out of control leading to the dissolution of his marriage. Yes, losing your wife and your job may be stereotypical of a country song, but Isbell does it in such well-defined detail that individualizes the story and the heartbreak of the subject.
While only the second song in the set, “King of Oklahoma” swelled to a downright barn burner.
With its extended solos and guitar shredding outro, it could have easily closed the show. As if with a wink, it signaled what the crowd was in for.
That’s no surprise to his audience though. Isbell and his band the 400 Unit have a solid reputation as a killer live act. Even with the addition of new members bassist Anna Butterss and multi-instrumentalist/percussionist Will Johnson, the band appears to work easily together and are so incredibly well rehearsed that there’s rarely a misstep.
The only hiccup in the show occurred as the fan favorite “Traveling Alone” came to a close.
Isbell announced that the band needed to leave the stage due to a medical concern. The lights went up and the crowd mulled about until a woman was wheeled out of the auditorium seated upright on a stretcher. The show quickly resumed with “Deathwish,” the opener of Isbell’s latest Grammy winning album, “Weathervanes,” which laments loving someone who seems to want to crash into the ether despite their loved one’s best efforts.
While the setlist (which focused heavily on “Weathervanes” and 2013’s breakthrough “Southeastern”) included older fan favorites like “Alabama Pines” and “Super 8,” it also didn’t shy away from more personal songs in lieu of his impending divorce from former bandmate Amanda Shires.
When some of your most popular songs are love songs and breakup songs, you inevitably spend your divorce tour reliving those moments. Songs like “If We Were Vampires,” which he used to perform as a duet with Shires, “Cover Me Up,” and “Overseas” in particular, left lumps in the audience’s collective throat yet they appreciatively sang along.
In February, Isbell told People Magazine that avoiding those kinds of songs “would be discrediting the emotional experience other people have had with them. For me it’s a matter of honoring other people’s connections with that music and also my own past.”
He’s taken a similar stance on “When We Were Close,” which he wrote about singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle’s 2020 death despite protests from Earle’s widow to stop performing it due to its frank lyrical content and mention of the couple’s child. (As a fan of both artists, I for one didn’t realize who the song was about until the controversy spurred a deeper read of the lyrics).
Isbell didn’t mention its inspiration as he and the 400 Unit ripped through the dark rocker with more fury than its recorded version.
Its story of parallel paths diverging could definitely get lost in the mix. His ability to approach the material with detachment allows the crowd to enjoy some of his staples with the baggage that colors his lyrics trapped in the periphery.
Throughout the night Isbell seemed happiest — his smile gleaming from afar — while trading licks with longtime guitarist and Myrtle Beach-native Sadler Vaden.
They even played what appeared to be twin solos on “Save the World.” The two have a comfortable shorthand and their voices meld so well together that Vaden has become an essential part of the show — the secret weapon next to the band’s leader.
It was really only during the finale of “This Ain’t It” that my ears tricked me and I thought I heard Shires’ distinct accent on backing vocals.
Isbell noted that he was honored to have Americana legend Alejandro Escovedo open the show. Escovedo, who at one time played the Double Door and Neighborhood Theatre fairly often, led a raucous Texas trio of drums, keys and his own guitar.
And at 73-year-old, he can still helicopter his arm repeatedly punctuating the end of a big guitar rocker like Pete Townsend in his youth.
