Led in equal parts by the married couple Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, the Tedeschi Trucks Band (TTB) rolled into Tedeschi’s home state of Massachusetts last weekend for a two-night tour finale at the House of Blues in Boston. Both evenings, a sold-out crowd packed into the venue to see the band’s fusion brand of blues-rock, funky soul, and guitar jam. The billing advertised a special guest opener for each show, and on Friday, as the lights went down, three dapper men took the stage: Soulive.
“Surprise,” drummer Alan Evans said as he sat behind his kit. Around the room, pockets of fresh-faced youngsters in tie-dyes, beanies, and man-buns jumped and cheered, recognizing the trio, while the older crowd in their leather jackets and fancy scarves looked at each other and shrugged. Over the next 45 minutes, though, as Soulive ripped through their exclusively instrumental set of tight musical phrases and immaculately timed runs, their fluid interchanges between driving guitar and screaming organ, everyone in the venue took up the groove. No surprise, after Soulive concluded with some knee-buckling blues, the older folks kept asking the younger ones, “What was that band called?” and typing it into their phones before the main act.
When TTB took the stage, everybody knew to cheer. Tedeschi waved and grinned at the folks she recognized in the audience, and Trucks took his place beside her, launching the band into a horn-powered rendition of Sly and the Family Stone’s “Are You Ready?” The song allowed for each member of the band to play some lines by way of introduction, but it also made clear the sheer power of the band’s leading members. Trucks’ guitar licks cut and dove through the full arrangement, while Tedeschi’s opening vocals, growling and sultry like your favorite lover’s stubble, commanded the audience’s attention. Yes, the audience was ready, jam-rock and blues-rock fans alike.
That powerful dynamic slid into “Made up Mind,” the title track of TTB’s latest album, with Truck’s slide guitar prowess on full display. And on the next song, “Do I Look Worried,” Tedeschi let loose, rearing back as she belted out the cutting words of a mistreated-yet-empowered lover, leaving the audience staggering with her all-in delivery.
A highlight of the night came a couple songs later with “Part of Me,” a soulful groove with an uplifting chorus during which Tedeschi shared vocal parts with trombonist Saunders Sermons, whose alto vocals only sweetened her growl. Mark Rivers, as well as Mike Mattison, formerly the lead singer of the Derek Trucks Band, provided Motownesque backup vocals while the audience popped and danced.
Other of the band members had their moments to shine as well. Kofi Burbridge, who laid down smooth, melodious keyboards, took out his flute during “Idle Wind” and played a dreamlike melody that floated over the vocals. Later in the song, with the cue of some hard-driving guitar playing from Trucks, an all-out drum jam broke out between the two drummers, Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson. The pair’s rich, full percussion provided a sound rhythmic foundation all night.
Bass player Tim Lefebvre showed his skill on the upright during the acoustic middle portion of the show, accompanying Tedeschi while she sang a tribute, “Shelter,” to her family present, including her grandmother. And while Tedeschi got some licks in on the electric guitar during the second half of the show, Derek Trucks drove the music full-throttle, especially as he played Duane Allman’s guitar and amp during the Derek and the Domino’s tune, “Keep on Growing.” The nearly two-hour set concluded with a thundering jam, Trucks’ guitar taking cosmic leaps over “The Storm,” which Tedeschi had dedicated to her home state.
If Tedeschi was conserving herself for the next and final night of the tour, it didn’t show, especially during the first song of the encore, “The Night Time Is the Right Time,” as she and Mattison delivered a rousing duet. Even Eric Krasno and Neal Evans, guitar and keys for Soulive, got in on the superjam for the final song, Freddie King’s “The Palace of the King,” which moved through several groove-driven crescendos. The performance delighted the jammers and the blues-heads alike before sending them back into the chilly Boston night.
Photos by Marc Lacatell
