It had been raining hard in Boston for over twelve hours straight. It was cold and it certainly wasn’t any kind of weather that anyone would have wanted to venture out in without having a good reason. However, on October 9th, the ragged Orpheum Theater was hosting one of today’s most genuine artists to leave the south in an effort to spread his uncompromising brand of music with the world. Sturgill Simpson, in support of his latest release A Sailor’s Guide To Earth, an ode to his wife and first-born son, brought his seven-piece band to Beantown and played relentlessly for over two hours to the sold out theater’s crowd. Each member in the audience got every cent worth of what they paid for their ticket, as Simpson let the music do the talking.
Without any fanfare, Simpson and Co. kicked off the night’s set with songs from his debut album, Hightop Mountain and his sophomore effort, Metamodern Sounds In Country Music. The primal, yet trippy “It Ain’t All Flowers” kicked it off in high fashion, but it was the upbeat “Life Of Sin”, “Railroad of Sin” and “Some Days” that truly stood out initially. The beautiful and whimsical “Turtles All the Way Down” digressed from the upbeat rockers, but the “Long White Line” medley, which featured “Call Me the Breeze” and “When the Levee Breaks” acted like a match to gasoline, which ignited the crowd into a frenzy. Then, for pretty much the first time of the night, Simpson took a deep breath, a sip of a drink and introduced his incredibly talented band. Then they all cruised through the traditional honkey-tonk-styled “A Little Light” and “Living the Dream” which had an eerie, but welcoming resemblance to the late Merle Haggard’s more sharp-tongued work.
The second installment of Simpson’s set, was solely dedicated to playing A Sailor’s Guide To Earth in its entirety. Like waves on an ocean, there was certainly an ebb and flow of tempos that kept the audience both engaged and enamored. After steering through the endearing “Welcome” and “Breakers”, the band grooved on “Keep it Between the Lines”. The band was clearly in the zone and they were having just as much of a good time on stage as those in their seats. Simpson, seemingly not one wanting the proverbial spotlight, stepped to the far side of the stage multiple times in order to give each member of the band space to strut their stuff.
Simpson’s three-piece horn section featuring Jon Ramm (trombone), Brad Walker (saxophone) and Scott Frock (trumpet) played throughout most of the set. Their orchestration not only beefed up the overall sound, but, added brilliance to each song and ultimately the atmosphere on stage. Lead guitarist, Laur Joamets, was utterly phenomenal. Joamets seamlessly switched between pedal steel and his six-strings throughout the set. Ultimately, it didn’t matter which one he was playing. He stood or sat while humbly fingerpicking and sliding all over the fretboards, adding a plethora of ear-pleasing twang-fueled notes.
Other highlights of the set included Sailor’s version of Nirvana’s “In Bloom”, which sounded far better than the studio cut. Simpson truly made the song his own and the audience sang each word right along with him. The gritty, “Brace for Impact” found the band playing together at another level, or maybe another world and it could have been a solid candidate for the set’s finale. But, a few songs later, that crown was given to the raucous “Call to Arms”. Mid song, one had to realize that this was it and that an encore was not in the cards. However, after what seemed to be fifteen minutes had passed and the band was still cranking out this jam. And, if one listened close enough, they may have spotted Simpson sneaking in yet another nod to an influence as the band jammed on T. Rex’, “The Motivator”. The band left the stage and Simpson gave one last wave by himself before giving two thumbs up and exiting stage right.
Simpson was a man possessed and his band was tac sharp. It was clear that they loved what they were doing on stage and the audience was elated as the band played right on through the not so subtle signal to stop when the house lights went on. Is Sturgill Simpson the next Outlaw? Let’s hope so.
