Wednesday, July 21, 2010

10 Concerts, 17 Days: Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi




Hello People,

Beginning with Derek Trucks this past Saturday and ending with Poppa Chubby on August 3rd, I'll be attending between 8-10 concerts over a 17 day period. So... I'm kinda happy. And by kinda happy I mean I'm in fucking heaven. Luckily for you, I've decided to write short reviews after each show, beginning with Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi this past Saturday at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Peekskill.

I've seen Trucks several times in the past, and he's been nothing less than awesome each time, a borderline guitar genius with a really strong backing band. This time around was no differe... wait... I mean terribly, horrifically, grotesquely different. From beginning to end, the show was a disorganized, disjointed, musically dumbed down mess.

First off, the band had two drummers playing full drum sets at the same time. This is almost never necessary, and is only interesting to me if it's a really percussive group (such as Tool) using two drummers sparingly. Both drummers played together for the entire show, combining to equal less than one decent percussionist. The lineup also included two guitarists (Trucks and Tedeschi), a bassist and a keyboard player. At no point during the show did the group perform as a cohesive unit, instead sounding like six musicians playing by themselves who just happened to be sharing a stage. It was really the Susan Tedeschi show, and it almost felt like Trucks was awkwardly sitting in (which he wasn't, the two have been touring together now for quite some time). I wasn't a huge fan of Tedeschi, more due to stylistic preferences than talent; she has a great voice and plays a decent guitar. However, she should be forbidden from writing lyrics for as long as she lives, as she set the unofficial record for most times using the words "love" and "music" in a lyrical cheesefest.

The utilization of the rest of the bands' abilities was odd to say the least. Since Trucks was the main reason I came to the show, I figured I'd at least enjoy his previously stunning guitar work. But Trucks seemed to lack focus, and most of his meandering solos were aimless and went on for far too long. In fact, all of the musicians' solos were an effort in individual showmanship, with notes being selfishly noodled while the rest of the band looked on. Mike Mattison, the incredibly talented lead singer from Trucks' band, was used sparingly as a backing vocalist up until the encore, where he got to highlight his exceptional and unique singing ability for a grand total of... two songs. The lack of overall musicality was astonishing considering the high level of musicianship Trucks has displayed for years now with his own band, and while touring with Eric Clapton and The Allman Brothers Band. Bad pairing of talents, worse backing band, and a really disappointing show. If you like Derek Trucks, I recommend waiting until he goes back on the road with the Derek Trucks Band to see him live.