Railroad Earth – Bourbon Theatre, Lincoln, NE 1/16/14

To say that Railroad Earth blew through town would be an apt description for their show in Lincoln on January 15^th, as there was a wind advisory over much of Nebraska, with winds gusting to well over 50 MPH. Although there weren’t a lot of people out on the downtown streets this evening, a good number of folks found refuge inside the Bourbon Theatre, filling the place up without overcrowding it.

Touring in support of their first album in three years, Last of the Outlaws, which was released digitally on January 14^th, Lincoln was Railroad Earth’s last stop before heading to Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium for a two-night album release celebration.

There was no opener, so we went straight to the main course. After  “Lone Croft Farewell” and “Old Dangerfield” warmed up musicians and fans alike, the first sing-along of the night was delivered with “Bringin’ My Baby Back Home.” The chorus of “The Good Life” raised some howls of appreciation from the natives, as the song’s title is also the slogan on the roadside billboards that welcome motorists to Nebraska. The fist set ended with the instrumental “1759” and transitioned right into the popular and powerful “Goat,” which danced the crowd into set break and ensured that everyone would be back for set two.

On top of the solid songwriting of Todd Sheaffer (lead vocals, acoustic guitars), the six members of Railroad Earth have a well-earned reputation for instrumental prowess. Tim Carbone (violins, electric guitar, vocals), John Skehan (mandolin, bouzouki, piano, vocals), Andy Goessling (acoustic guitars, banjo, dobro, mandolin, lap steel, flute, pennywhistle, saxophones and vocals), Carey Harmon (drums, hand perscussion, vocals) and Andrew Altman (upright and electric bass) are all masters of their individual craft, and together create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Skehan and Carbone often dual from opposite ends of the stage, building momentum without stepping on toes. Goessling, in addition to most of the instruments listed above, also did his trick of playing two saxophones at once and even picked up an electric guitar for a tune, prompting someone to turn to me and ask, “How can somebody play that many instruments, that well?” It’s great to see musicians having fun on stage, and sometimes the band members seemed as delighted as the audience at the path the music took.

The second set included long-time favorites (“Birds of America,” “Stillwater Getaway,” “Storms”) along with some newer tunes. We were treated to a take on the title track of the new album, which went into “Tuba Mirum,” a section from Railroad Earth’s first-ever long form composition “All That’s Dead May Live Again/Face with a Hole,” also on Last of the Outlaws.

The encore consisted of two songs, the sentimental “’Neath the Stars” followed by the more unruly “Little Rabbit.” The band left the stage, loading up for the ride to Denver, and the fans filed out onto the streets of Lincoln. The wind had settled down considerably, but judging by people’s smiles, there were still many spirits stirring.