Photo of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit by Vertrell Yates
Adaptations of music can be presented as carbon copies of the original or as anything but. When Jason Isbell’s most recent album, Foxes In the Snow, released in May of last year on Isbell’s own Southeastern Records label, (produced partially by Isbell, and recorded at the infamous Electric Lady Studios in New York), out-of-context listeners may have been surprised at the majority acoustic mode of the album. Once fans zoomed in and peered through the production booth window, over Jason’s shoulder, and into the lyrical architecture of the album, the curveball nature of the record became less murky. Pitching what is ostensibly a post-divorce album with former San Franciso Giants two-time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum’s reckless maverick delivery, Isbell decided to tour his record both by himself and with the 400 unit, the band that brought alt-country rockers to their feet with Weathervanes and 24 Frames.
It is rather difficult to find a modern country/country rock/alt-country artist with more utilizable acclaim than Isbell, though that may be up for some debate with some certain St. Louisans. (I am looking at you, Jeff Tweedy, though he is not really from St. Louis, but I digress.) Regardless, there is only one fresh country artist that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz chose to have at a presidential campaign rally alongside the legend that is Michael Stipe of R.E.M. fame (and I think it is fair to say that Stipe cannot be described as fresh, in the same way that Isbell can). Therefore, it was not surprising A.) That Isbell and his team chose the Fox Theatre as his venue of choice in St. Louis, (though he did namecheck Off Broadway, which is reportedly the venue of his first solo show in St. Louis), B.) That the house was packed to the rafters on a Wednesday night, or C.) That he was touring with arguably one of the best up and coming bass guitarists, Anna Butterss.
The question then evolved into, how is this acoustic and at times rather dark and lyrically grim music going to translate to live performance with a rock band? Ultimately, that question should have been rhetorical. Plumbing the depths of his own discography, Isbell provided audiences with two hours of an electrifying and eclectic evening, from the raucous heights of “King of Oklahoma” to the pensive fingerpicking of “Maybe It’s Time,” as Isbell reminded his fans of his movie score success from A Star is Born.
Granted, those who have followed Isbell for a while both appreciate and recognize his finesse in songwriting, as he melds the truth of his own life, expertly accessing the universal through the specific, with a long history of live performance, going back to his rougher, Drive-By Truckers days. It would be an utter shock to find an audience member who walked away from the show without having their expectations exceeded. While some adaptations fall flat on their face, Isbell’s adaptations of his own album surely made many wonder how he had managed to strengthen the spine of his urtext. | Joe Hindle
