January concerts: A great start to 2024
My first three concerts of the year were memorable. Here’s the rundown
After writing a monster 2023 concerts in review that I spent hours working on and cutting down, and turning into two pieces (one of which was still VERY long), I decided to start writing about each concert I went to.
Except … I’ve already fallen behind on that. There are no rules on this Substack, so no big deal. Eventually, though, that is the plan.
It’s also the plan for SOME of the future posts to be … less long … and also talk about more than just me and my experiences.
This, though, is the first of the new-and-improved concert reviews for 2024, featuring videos and even more photos. This piece will be a look at the three shows I saw in January. It was a hell of a way to kick off 2024!
Charlie Starr with Benji Shanks, Castle Theater, Bloomington, IL
There was never any question this performance, from two members of Blackberry Smoke, would sound great. But the real bonus was how relaxed and fun Charlie was. He told many stories, sometimes mid-song.
Here were the best moments:
During “Old Enough to Know,” after the line: “Never trust a grown man with a nickname," Charlie said he was once arrested with a man named “Turtle,” who seemed to be the basis of the line in the song. He said he also knew a man nicknamed “Protein” — a big guy who Charlie’s mom, a nurse, said should’ve been called “Carbohydrate.”
Before kicking into “Let Me Down Easy,” Charlie had some trouble with the tuning on his guitar and began strumming it, inadvertently, in a manner that sounded like the beginning of Billy Joel’s “Still Rock n’ Roll to Me,” so he obliged with his best Joel impression and sang “What’s a matter with the clothes I’m wearing …,” cracking up Benji and the audience.
Charlie explained before performing “Crimson Moon” that the “Whippoorwill” album was pretty much finished when Zac Brown, who produced the record, asked Charlie, “You’re not going to do that song about the Crimson Tide?” Charlie, an Auburn fan, wasn’t amused, but is glad they added the song to the album.
Before “What Comes Naturally,” Charlie talked about how he’d get notifications every week when the show “Yellowstone” was using Blackberry Smoke’s songs. When “What Comes Naturally” popped up, he said his reaction was “Really? Nobody likes that damn song.”
I’ve never seen Yellowstone, but I’ve always loved the song, “What Comes Naturally.” It’s a simple little 12-bar blues that includes the line, “Took my dollar and she gave me back a dime … took my dollar, gave me a dime. I got 10 percent and a mighty good time … .” But at the show, before going into the chorus, Charlie stopped and said, “That’s a pretty good deal these days … inflation and everything.”
It really is.
I’d listened to some John Prine songs in preparation after Charlie did different ones at the first two acoustic shows of the tour, but he did one I hadn’t heard — “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness.” As I dig further into Prine, that one is becoming a favorite.
Other covers were “Sitting on Top of the World” by the Mississippi Sheiks, “Yer So Bad” by Tom Petty, “Roll Gypsy Roll” by Lynyrd Skynyrd and — my favorites — “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More” by the Allman Brothers and Little Feat’s “Sailin Shoes” to kick off the encore.
They played the Blackberry Smoke acoustic favorites you’d expect, but the big, loud rockers they did acoustic versions of — “Like an Arrow,” “Living in a Song,” “Crimson Moon” and “Like An Arrow” — surprisingly retained their power.
They finished the main set with “One Horse Town,” which is a song I’ve been particularly into of late, so it was a highlight. And it’s never a Blackberry Smoke show without “Ain’t Much Left of Me” as the closer.
When I looked at the setlist and saw there were 20 songs I was shocked. That show felt like it lasted about 45 minutes. It sounded great in that venue, and the crowd stayed mostly quiet when it needed to, but was also enthusiastic. It was a great show … even if it felt like it was over too quick!
Melanie MacLaren opened with a great set, including a closer —”Tourist” — that’s a tear-jerker. She was also funny and personable, which set the tone for the night.
— Jan. 12 , with concert buddy Shawn Hillman
Marrakesh Express and The Steepwater Band (Avenue 912, Griffith, Ind.)
I’ve just accepted the fact that when I’m in Indiana, I don’t know what time it is.
My mom and I left an hour early to make for the Eastern Time Zone after my last fiasco in Indianapolis … only to find out in Northwest Indiana, they run on Central.
All good, though. Mom and I had a table right in front of the stage for the longest non-Evolution Festival show I’ve been to in to … in a long time — four-and-a-half hours of great rock n’ roll!
This event was billed as “A Night at the Crossroads III.” I already knew Steepwater was going to put on a great show. And I had a good feeling Marrakesh Express — a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tribute band — was also good.
But I had no idea who Chris Grove or Billy Ozzello were when I walked into Avenue 912. In fact, earlier in the day when I didn’t know what time it was in Indiana and I thought we were running behind, I told my mom if we missed the first act, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
That would have been tragic. Grove was Eddie Money’s longtime keyboard player and formerly played in Survivor, while Ozzello is the current bass player for Survivor. They did several originals mixed in with some covers and both stood out — Ozzello for his songwriting and singing, and Grove for his keyboard playing. Grove had one solo that had me doing Jack Black face from “School of Rock.” After they were done, I turned to my mom and told her he should play keys for Steepwater.
Turns out, he does! He plays on both their albums, “Turn of the Wheel” and “Re-Turn of the Wheel.” And he sat in with Steepwater throughout their set … which I’ll get to.
Ozzello and Grove finished up by bringing up Jeff Massey from Steepwater and Greg Ashby of Marrakesh Express to do a couple songs, including Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty,” during which mom gave me the Jack Black look over Massey’s slide playing — “He’s really good!”
Marrakesh features two guitars, and sometimes an additional acoustic, to cover all the instrumental talents of the band’s main characters, and three main singers as well. There’s a lot that has to go right for it to come together, and this band nails it. Watching these guys made me wonder why there aren’t more CSN&Y tributes — they have so many instantly recognizable classics people love to sing along to. But it’s also probably not easy to find vocalists who can pull it off like these guys do.
Marrakesh Express vocalist/acoustic guitar player David Varella provided the night’s emotional moment. Before the song, “Almost Cut My Hair,” he shared with the audience that he’d been having some significant stomach issues and, frankly, had times he’d wished he was dead … if it wasn’t for music. He said the big crowd in attendance and our reaction made it worth it, then wiped away tears and delivered a powerful vocal performance. I got it together in time to belt out “And I feeeeel, like I owe it … to someone!”
Marrakesh set a high bar but Steepwater was ready. I’ve made pretty clear my love for Steepwater in past posts. Watching guitar players Massey and Eric Saylors work together on some truly gorgeous guitar harmonies never gets old. They played a combination of their new stuff mixed with their old favorites. The addition to Grove was welcome and really elevated not only the new stuff he played on the albums, but the older songs like “High and Humble.”
This was the third time I’ve seen Steepwater play in six months, and they’re everything you want out of a live band. They shake up the setlist, do cool covers, and both Massey and Saylors are guitar virtuosos with differing soloing styles, which makes their jams especially powerful.
Before the show, I knew there was a plan to have a “grand jam” at the end featuring the members of both bands. I was guessing a couple songs. The part of that crowd that cleared out after Steepwater missed an absolute treat — five songs!
As soon as I recognized the next song, I nudged my mom to tell her it was a Neil Young song, only to see her belting “Down By the River” right in time.
At one point, I counted the different people on stage performing at once and it was 12. I thought to myself: Kind of like George Harrison’s band on “All Things Must Pass.” The next song they do? “My Sweet Lord” — complete with harmonizing slide parts!
You could see in the faces of the musicians they were having a blast — the performance was technically for the audience, but it almost felt like they forgot we were even out there.
After, I again talked to Steepwater drummer and truly great guy Joe Winters for a few minutes and also got to meet his wife, Angela. He almost seemed like he felt a little guilty about the grand jam: “Was it good?” he asked. After a long day of driving, trying to figure out what time it was, then nearly five hours of musical goodness, all I could say was: “Yes, Joe, we are thoroughly rocked!”
— Jan. 19, with Mom
Illegal Smiles (Destihl Brewery Barrel Room, Normal, IL)
The Illegal Smiles are a John Prine tribute band from the Chicago area. I knew maybe one or two Prine songs when I saw the ad on Facebook for the Illegal Smiles’ performance at Destihl Brewery in Normal, so I took a screenshot and sent it to my friend Nick, who actively DOESN’T listen to music anymore. But what I knew of Prine, I’d learned from Nick, so I thought I’d throw it out there.
Within an hour of me sending the screen shot, he was making plans to come to the show, along with his friend, Conrad (a big music fan). Music has touched everyone’s life in some way. Sometimes it takes reminding.
In the week leading up to the show, I began preparing by listening to as much Prine as I could. Both Nick and I realized quickly we’d be woefully unprepared — Prine’s catalogue is just too big to learn in a week.
But, man, it was fun trying — Prine is brilliant. Still, I had no idea what to expect from the Illegal Smiles, other than that their Facebook page said they do Prine songs from “all eras.”
The opener was Ernie Hendrickson and he did several originals, including a highly political song he said will be on his next record called “Boogeyman.” The spirit of Prine was definitely in this song. Hendrickson extended the January string of strong openers, and — it turned out — also contributed to the main set.
The Illegal Smiles were missing their steel guitar player and female vocalist, but were more than talented enough to make up for it — with some help from Hendrickson, who had clearly done some Prine songs in his past. They did, indeed, cover all eras of Prine — many I knew, and many I didn’t.
During the band’s break, I ran into the bass player outside and he said he, along with the steel guitar player who wasn’t there because of illness, had been playing Prine songs since the 70s. They’d recently found some younger members to help carry on the tradition, and it was obvious how much they enjoyed playing the music.
I think my favorite part was seeing how much the music was touching Nick during the show. You can try to deny the power music possesses, but … why?
The crowd in the Barrel Room was on the chatty side during Hendrickson’s set and much of the Illegal Smiles’ set — it felt like when the crowd had finally settled, the band was down to its final songs.
This was my fourth tribute band in the last six months, and I have to admit I’m warming to them. There’s a Pink Floyd one next month at The Castle and I’m feeling like that might be my next show.
— Jan. 27, with old friend Nick and new friend Conrad
Bonus content
Here are a few more videos and photos from the shows I saw in January.
Charlie cracking up Benji.
Ain’t Much Left of Me (Charlie and Benji)
Run Away From it All (Charlie and Benji)
Sailin’ Shoes (Charlie and Benji)
Eric Saylors, left, and Jeff Massey on some guitar harmonies with Joe Winters working the drums for Steepwater.
Eric Saylors from The Steepwater Band — feeling it!
Jeff Massey from The Steepwater Band
Joe Bishop from The Steepwater Band
Joe Winters from The Steepwater Band
Joe from Steepwater with a tasty drum solo.
Running on Empty, Chris Grove and Billy Ozzello with Jeff Massey from Steepwater and Greg Ashby from Marrakesh Express.
Almost Cut My Hair, Marrakesh Express
Please the Believer, Steepwater Band
Illegal Smile, Illegal Smiles
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Almost every time I come home from the store, I have some story to tell my wife about an odd encounter or annoyance. She claims these things never happen to her. Well, if going to Walmart is an adventure for me, imagine what happens when I go to concerts.
Music is awesome, which I somehow forgot, but then remembered
Some people are really good at knowing who they are. They develop identities young and perfect it as they go I was always jealous of those people. But at 49, I think I’m finally figuring it out. I love music — listening to it, reading about it, talking about it, listening to people talk about it … and now, even playing it.
Look Dad, I’m playing your guitar!
I was sitting in another room on my phone when I heard a familiar sound. But I hadn’t heard that sound in a long time. Feelings flooded back. The sound made me put my phone down and walk into the room where my wife was holding my dad’s old guitar and strumming it.