Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans are in the midst of their “No Rest For The West” tour, bringing their tried and true brand of roots and alt-country music to their southern neighbors by hitting up venues across the western United States. On Sunday, January 13th, they played Portland, Oregon’s Mission Theater.
After a compelling opening set from country-leaning Winston-Salem singer-songwriter Caleb Caudle, the Hurtin’ Albertans came out swinging with “Gettin’ Down on the Mountain” from 2012’s Cabin Fever, guitarist Grant “Demon” Siemens driving hard with the deep tone of a baritone guitar. The band followed that up with more tunes from Cabin Fever, including “Pour ‘Em Kinda Strong,” and a song Lund co-wrote with Hayes Carll, “Bible On The Dash.”
Lund is as authentic as it gets. Coming from a multi-generational ranching family in southern Alberta, Canada, he has firsthand knowledge of rodeos and roughnecks and living off the land. He has nine studio albums under his belt, with three certified gold. Cabin Fever, his seventh album, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Canadian Charts. 2015’s Things That Can’t Be Undone was produced by Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, John Prine) and received lots of critical praise.
The Hurtin’ Albertans include Kurt Ciesla on bass, Brady Valgardson on drums, and Siemens. The rhythm section has been the backbone of the band since the beginning. Siemens is the newest member of the group, having only been around some 15 years, give or take. He keeps things interesting not only with dynamic playing, but an arsenal of stringed instruments — electric guitars, lap steel, mandolin, and the aforementioned baritone. After a couple of decades together, the Hurtin’ Albertans are a well-oiled machine.
After a few more songs, including “Shine Up My Boots,” “Good Copenhagen,” and “September,” Lund mentioned that he doesn’t really fit into most categories, so he came up with his own. Agricultural/Tragic. Ag/Trag for short. A little tongue in cheek perhaps, but songs like “September,” “Hurtin’ Albertan,” and “The Truck Got Stuck” would certainly belong in that distinct category.
Although Lund has a vast catalog of his own songs, the band did make room for a few covers. “Mamas, Dont’ Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” fit naturally within the confines of Lund’s own “Buckin’ Horse Rider.” And Lund announced that he was going to play his favorite song about Oregon. He mentioned that Todd Snider’s “Rose City Blues” was a great song, but that wasn’t the one he was going to play. Instead, he played “M.C. Horses,” written by Ian Tyson about the famed eastern Oregon ranch.
Lund then sang his own ranch ballad, “S Lazy H,” from Things That Can’t Be Undone. Last year, that song was featured on an episode of the Netflix Original Series “The Ranch.” In all, Lund treated the crowd to upwards of two dozen songs. There were songs about boots, trucks, chewing tobacco, grave diggers, horse soldiers, gamblers down on their luck, and a love for cows, all delivered with Lund’s unique lyrical perspective.
After ending the set proper with the one-two punch of “Rye Whiskey” and “Time to Switch to Whiskey,” the band was cheered back onstage to finish the night. The encore started with the rollicking “The Gothest Girl I Can” and after a run through “The Truth Comes Out,” ended with a cover of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show’s “Cover of the Rolling Stone.”
As America sees a resurgence in authentic, roots-oriented country music, evidenced by the rise of artists like Tyler Childers, Margo Price, and Cody Jinks, it’s nice to know that our neighbors to the north have an authentic country artist that’s been following his muse and delivering his own brand of heartfelt music for over 20 years. Go see Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans.
