Railroad Earth has always taken a humble approach to being a band. Beyond their impressive light show – practically a necessity for a band in the “jamgrass” scene – the New Jersey group has a no-frills approach to performing, opting to let their musicality and songs speak for themselves over any flashy production. This formula is a testament to their timeless blend of bluegrass and Americana with a healthy dose of improvisation thrown in to keep things interesting. It is also a formula that continues to connect with fans over twenty years after forming, as was evidenced by Railroad Earth’s sold-out show at Revolution Hall in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, January 15th.
If there is one key theme to nearly every Railroad Earth show, it’s the ability of the music to get the audience smiling. The band wasted no time in doing this as they opened with some of their most lively and cheerful tunes. These tunes also let touring members Matt Slocum and Mike Robinson flex their skills, with Robinson doing some fine banjo picking on “Long Way to Go” only to swap it out for a pedal steel guitar to complement Slocum’s soulful organ work on “It’s So Good.” Guitarist and singer Todd Sheaffer kept things moving with the bouncy folk-grass number “Happy Song” before the band eased into the warming vibes of longtime favorite “The Good Life.” These songs were all played in more of a straightforward manner with few solos, but the band hinted at what was to come later in the evening when they let newest member Dave Speranza kick off the older tune “Black Bear” – very much in the vein of something that might have been penned by Grateful Dead and Robert Hunter – with a slowburning standup bass intro. The band let this build into the full-on folk-grass group jam of “Stillwater Getaway” that closed out the set and left the audience hungry for more.
Set two started with one of their heavier rocking tunes, “Black Elk Speaks,” and segued into the expansive “Birds of America” that morphed into more of a traditional jam band sound with the piano work of Slocum. Robinson stepped back in during “For Love,” using his twangy pedal steel to transform it into a lush country tune and complementing one of Sheaffer’s best guitar solos of the night. Tim Carbone grabbed the spotlight on the rambling “Just So You Know” as he let his fiddle take the lead in a group jam, while “Slippin’ Away” took things to the next level in the form of a rambunctious bluegrass affair played at hyper speed. Other highlights in the second set included the extended psych-grass intro to “1759” followed by Carbone laying down a blistering electric guitar solo on the pleasing and soulful “Hard Livin.’” After such joy-inducing highs, the band brought the audience back down to earth with the beautifully calm tune “The Great Divide.” The fans joined in on the shenanigans during the rowdy encore of “Elko,” spraying playing cards into the air during the chorus hoot of “Poor boys and gamblers.”
Over the course of nearly three hours, Railroad Earth had their fans basking in the glow of their performance. They have always been remarkably consistent in delivering sets that balance top notch songwriting, musical improvisation, and feel-good energy. Their show in Portland was no exception, with just the right mix of longtime favorites, new tunes, and full-on group jams to let their fans come up smiling.
All photos by Greg Homolka
