iradiophilly | Culture - Concert Review: Ray LaMontagne and Jason Isbell at the Susquehanna Bank Center Saturday 6/7

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Concert Review: Ray LaMontagne and Jason Isbell at the Susquehanna Bank Center Saturday 6/7

by: JoeS - Springfield, PA
started: 06/11/14 4:40 pm | updated: 06/11/14 4:40 pm

The weather on Friday night, June 7th was nearly perfect and the performances by Jason Isbell and Ray LaMontagne did the weather one up.

Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit are from the Muscle Shoals area of Alabama. That influence permeates the music and the performance style. Jason is a polite and reserved guy who has a soulful, strong country sound that is from the heart. He tells stories of his family and childhood through songs like "Flying Over Water," "Decoration Day" and "Codeine." Stories of trying to be free, of grieving for our soldiers and plying a woman with drugs are a collage of life is a very small farming town.

The band had a funky hard country push and Jason's voice is right out of the Hank Williams school of southern Alabama soul. There was a large contingent of folks there to see Jason and they responded by singing along to many of his songs, especially "Stockholm." His wife, Amanda Shires, is touring with him playing a mean fiddle and providing soaring vocal back-up. "Decoration Day" is from his time with the Drive-By Truckers and a fan favorite on this night. He was the right type and style of artist to warm up a crowd who were chomping at the bit to see Ray!

Ray! Ray! Ray! was the chant for the 15 minutes it took to turn around the stage. The Ray this night was not the Ray of old. Though he performed some of his stuff folks had come to know like, "Trouble," "Meg White" and "Jolene," this tour is about Supernova. There was a large roar when he delved into his older stuff and I must admit the country/folk songs are comfortable like an old shoe. He mixed the order of the songs in a way that honored the old by starting with "Gossip In The Grain" and for the first song of his encore he did "Hey Me, Hey Mama." The audience sang every word of theses along with Ray. The crowd was a real mix of ages as well as interest level in the lineage of the songs. Though I like his older stuff, I think this new batch of songs have an upbeat pace, catchy lyrics and a happy tone. I and many I talked to in the audience were there because of Supernova.

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The vast majority of the concert was devoted to songs off Supernova with the enthusiastic approval of his veteran fans. The first off the new album was "Lavender," a psychedelic and organ filled tune with a Lava Lamp light show as the backdrop. Two songs were, in my estimation, much better performed live than in the recorded version. Both the fast paced â€œShe's The Oneâ€ and â€œSmashingâ€ felt more intense and had more depth performed live.

His band, which included Barbra Gruska on drums and harmony along with Zachariah Hickman on bass and harmonies, distinguished themselves especially on â€œSupernova.â€ To say folks got into this song is a gross understatement, they immersed themselves in the performance, the music and especially the lyrics. I'd sure like to meet that Zoe myself! You can hear the influence of The Beatles, Steven Stills, The Boss and Neil Young in the sound and his vocal presentations of this piece of work. The power of the drums on â€œJuliaâ€ and the vocals and keyboards on â€œShe's The Oneâ€ are great live and worthy of a good set of headphones and a vinyl recording at home.

He is a neither a front man nor a cheerleader. His sincere and quite â€œthank you'sâ€ are what he is as an artist and a person. His voice from gruff rasp to haunting falsetto in combination with his lovely and romantic lyrics make him what he is a, 'modern through back.' He powered his way with his booming voice through â€œGod Willin' and the Creek Don't Riseâ€ right before the encore. He closed with a song that sort of tells the story of this album and this performance, â€œDrive-in Movies.â€ A classic piece of Americana that brings a smile to your face, a treat for the ear.

The Susquehanna Bank Center has good acoustics, a decent seating layout while being easy to get to and exit. However, the parking is very expensive ($25/30) and the lot is full of holes. The folks working the concert, the security and the police were visible and helpful. All in all an 'A' level concert on every level.