A lot of comedians talk about how they work on dialing in a special/joke and they get to a point where they’ve honed it in and perfected it, and it kills, but eventually THEY get tired of telling it and the audience can tell their heart isn’t in it. I have to imagine that singer/songwriters write a song during a particular point in their life that means the world to them, but once they’ve overcome those demons, it doesn’t ring true to them, or they don’t want to look back anymore. Which is a shame, because you never know who’s going through that in their life and those are the songs that hit their soul (elephant for example).
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That’s what makes King George the best - dude has just played the hits for decades, no chitchat no flash just hits, and never seems to be bothered by it.
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My issue with George Strait concerts (at least in the past 10 years) is I could’ve just stayed home and listened to his album. The shows have little to no juice. Great songs, yes. Great performance, no.
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You can’t pay $20 for a beer at home, tho
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This is my biggest gripe with him. Put that one on the back burner for a while. Exactly 19 songs every night and that has to be one of them every night? Boring.
I guess that’s what I get for growing up as a jam band kid…seeing Phish play 3 or 13 nights in a row with zero repeats.
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Ya I guess I’m just looking for very different things from an Isbell set vs Phish and I think the bands are trying to accomplish different things too.
I love it when artists pull stuff out from way back in the catalog but that’s for a small minority of people at the show anyway. Most people go to shows to see the hits and not playing the top hit or two is definitely annoying and possibly disrespecful.
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Yeah I think you nailed it. Concerts are expensive and most people might see their favorite artist one time on a tour, if they even make it to every tour, so sending them home without hearing the 2 or 3 biggest songs would suck for them. Especially if it’s their first time seeing the band/artist
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$275 on tickets, $200 for a babysitter, $30 for parking. The venue we saw him at allows coolers and picnics but we still spent $40 for food and we purchased a bottle of wine at the venue, which was a winery, for $30. $600 for a night out and we weren’t the only parents there who got a babysitter.
Ran into some friends after the show that we didn’t know were going and it was their first time seeing Isbell and the first thing they said was how awesome Cover Me Up was. I probably have a dozen Isbell songs I like more than that one but I know it means a lot to a lot of people.
I went to the second show the next night at the same place with a friend so only had to pay for one ticket. The setlist was considerably different from night one. It’s possible to have variety and still play the songs people want to hear.
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I really want to go see him, but my expectations are that the show will be the same as “Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Live from Alabama” and I’m worried it won’t deliver. Am I crazy? Or should I just light a fire and listen to that three times with a case of High Lifes?
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There is no reason you shouldn’t go see him if you can afford it. If you really really want to see him at his best, if that kind of thing is important, then you try and get tickets to a show at the Ryman, where he is guaranteed to put on a banger.
No matter where you see him, you’ll get a good professional show. You just might not get a messy-but-special performance, because life doesn’t work that way anymore for him.
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Agree with KVV. It will likely be a great show regardless as the live performances feel very visceral. Would recommend a smaller venue if possible, I saw him at Ford Field opening for Zach Bryan which had a different feel.
If you think about it, he will probably play a few of your favourites in the 19 or so songs, and if he only plays one, seeing that live will likely outweigh any other feelings.
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100% go see him. It’s an incredible display of musicianship and there’s more improv and extended jams than I think folks give him credit for. I’ve seen him five times now and if he was in town next week I’d go again.
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Thanks, I’m reading this and thinking of Decoration Day. He doesn’t come my way much in Wisco, but I’ll keep an eye out.
Small venues are more my speed. Saw Derek Trucks Band at Town Hall when I still lived in NYC 15+ years ago and it’s still in my lifetime top 3 performances.
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Jason Isbell Announces New Album Foxes In The Snow
New solo album from Isbell coming March 7th, opening track “Bury Me” is available now. Interested to see the changes between this new album and Weathervanes and the 400 Unit sound.
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Gonna go back and watch his Living Room show again just to get in the mood. Can’t watch it enough times really. He’s coming to SLC for two nights in May and I plan on seeing both shows, don’t really even care if its the same set list both nights.
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It’s an acoustic album. Just him and the guitar. No band. It’s good! I’ve heard a full listen via some secret back channels. I like a lot of it. It will anger some people, because half of it is about Amanda and half of it is about the new romance. But it’s raw and honest and probably what he needed to write before he gets back to rock and roll.
I don’t love the title track but most of the other songs are very good, maybe two flirting with great.
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Haha yeah, aware of the album concept.
Me and my Isbellians are just reacting to this song which should be noted he dropped on Valentine’s Day. LOL I feel like these lyrics, ironically, wouldn’t have passed Shires’ “copy editor” checkpoint he used to have. One of my friends posted a link to a post on the Shires subreddit and, guess what?, they hate it.
Good to hear the rest of the album is better!
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There’s a Shires subreddit?
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