Bound For Glory: Tedeschi Trucks Band @ Highline Ballroom, April 13
After watching the NYC debut of the Tedeschi Trucks Band at the Highline Ballroom I came to the following conclusion: There is absolutely nothing bad I can say about the band. As far as the setlist, we all wished the set was a little longer (110 minutes) and it would have been nice to hear one or two more songs from the new album and perhaps a few from the past albums of the couple whose names make up the band’s moniker.
[All photos by Marc Millman]
The Tedeschi Trucks Band contains nine musicians, most of whom have played together in some form or another over the years and several of whom are amongst the best around at their instruments including two skilled guitar players (Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi) who happen to be married and show a level of affection for each other while playing that is truly touching. It doesn’t hurt that one sings with passion (Tedeschi) and the other plays the guitar like he made his own deal with the devil at the crossroads (Trucks).
The drummers (Tyler Greenwell & J.J. Johnson) play in a loose manner that reminds you of those live Motown revues from the ’60s. And to watch them having fun with each other while laying down the backbeat was pure entertainment in itself. The brothers Burbridge round out the core of the band and really help tie the whole project together. Oteil (bass) plays with Derek in The Allman Brothers Band, while Kofi (keyboards) performs with Derek in The Derek Trucks Band. With the inclusion of Mike Mattison and another male vocalist as well as a three-piece horn section (featuring Maurice Brown on trumpet) this is a band more than capable of going from a spacey intro jam to hard-core funk or from classic Motown or Stax styled soul to dirty blues.
READ ON for more of Marc’s take on Derek & Susan’s new band…
