A few years ago, Sturgill Simpson played a rowdy show at Brighton Music Hall. He was riding in on a wave of critical acclaim for his sophomore album, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, and it was an intimate enough show that when a fan told him congratulations, Sturgill looked at him and said, “Thank you, man.” “You made it,” the fan said. “We’ve crawled to the beginning,” Sturgill replied. “That’s still a van parked out back.”
Three years later, Sturgill’s tour bus sat outside The Orpheum Theater. So some things have changed. What remains the same is Simpson’s incredible stage presence, vocal power, and energy as a frontman, and his ability to surround himself with players who pull no punches. These guys do not mess around–it was high energy from start to finish as they tore through the best of Sturgill’s catalogue.
The first half of the set featured songs from Metamodern and Sturgill’s debut album, Hightop Mountain. They started with “It Ain’t All Flowers,” complete with wolf howls filled in by the crowd. The horn section (Scott Frock, trumpet; Brad Walker, saxophone; Jon Ramm, trombone) made an immediate impact, complementing lead guitarist Laur Joamets’ dazzling riffs with their own fills and solos. They seemed to have a lot of fun mimicking a train horn on “Railroad of Sin” and I particularly appreciated their work on “Turtles All The Way Down,” a song that is so lush on the album but has, up to this point, been sort of stripped down in concert. The set mixed a strong set of barnburners like “Life of Sin,” and “Living the Dream,” with slower, more somber songs like “The Promise,” and “I’d Have to Be Crazy.” It’s on the slower numbers that Sturgill can knock you flat with his vocals. Lefty Frizell’s “I Never Go Around Mirrors” was a real showstopper in that regard and as the song came to its final verse, the horns swung like they were backing Elvis in Las Vegas.
The second half featured A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, his most recent album which he wrote with his son in mind, in its entirety. Simpson has said many times that the album is not intended to be broken up–when NPR premiered the album on its “First Listen” series last April, Simpson requested that the site stream the album, but not individual tracks. The album stirred some controversy when it was released, as the so-called savior of country music sought to expand his sound. But there wasn’t any controversy last night, as the crowd immediately began to sing along. Sturgill seemed to smile in appreciation as he heard his words coming back at him: “Hello, my son, welcome to earth / You may not be my last, but you’ll always be my first.”
“Keep it Between The Lines,” was a real highlight, as the band extended it with several ripping solos, and Sturgill pulled out every ounce of emotion for his cover of Nirvana’s “In Bloom.” If there was anything I wish had been a little different, it was that Laur Jaumets switched over to pedal steel guitar for almost every song from Sailor’s and, with the exception of a few really brilliant moments, the sound was kind of swallowed up. Now, it’s true that these songs are different and they aren’t driven by acoustic and electric guitar the way Sturgill’s first two albums are and Laur’s pedal steel on “Oh Sarah” was absolutely gorgeous. But Jaumets was nominated as instrumentalist of the year from the Americana Music Association this year, and it felt like his presence was muted unnecessarily compared to when he was playing the telecaster. The show ended without an encore, but “Call To Arms,” was probably ten minutes long and blew the doors off, including a shift to T-Rex’s “Motivator.” I don’t know how they could have topped it.
Perhaps the biggest difference between now and a few years ago is that Sturgill plays more of a bandleader role now, stepping away from the spotlight to let his bandmates shine. He seems to enjoy the role, relishing the bigger sound and broader possibilities this band affords his music. With three very different albums, Sturgill has solidified his reputation as someone hard to predict who will follow his instincts as an artist. However, it seems like one prediction will be safe for a long time–if you go to a show, you’re going to be blown away.