Groovin' & Slidin'
For whatever reason, female vocalists are a rare commodity
in the jam band scene. The one big exception is Susan Tedeschi, who cut her
teeth in the Boston blues scene before becoming a rising star and opening act
for the likes of Buddy Guy, BB King, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones.
On tour in New Orleans opening for the Allman Brothers,
Tedeschi met Derek Trucks, the young son of founding member and drummer Butch
Trucks, who had already been jamming on slide guitar with his pops from the age
of 12. Derek was leading his namesake band at the time, and the two played
together sporadically under the name Soul Stew Revival. By 2010, the pair had
fallen in love, married, and given up their own bands to form the Tedeschi
Trucks Band, touring and headlining festivals ever since.
The 11-piece band took the stage at the Saenger Theater for
the first of two nearly sold-out shows Friday night. Set one opened with a
rousing cover of The Allman Brothers Band's "Stand Back," followed by
Tedeschi's soulful vocals on "Do I Look Worried." The tempo picked back up with
the Muddy Waters cover "Got My Mojo Working" and continued throughout the
one-hour set, capped off by Trucks's slide guitar solo on "Shame."
After a 40-minute set break, Tedeschi and Trucks kept the
audience on their feet for most of the second set with covers like Blind
Faith's "Presence of the Lord," Princes's "D.M.S.R." and local favorite "I Walk
on Guilded Splinters" by Dr. John. The second set ended with a bluesy TTB
favorite, "Idle Wind," which showed off the band's diversity with the flute intro
by one of the band's two horn players.
The band took another short break before coming out for the
two-song encore, beginning with the George Harrison cover "Wah-Wah" and closing
with the funky "Made Up Mind." Throughout the show, Trucks carried the heavy
load on slide guitar, expertly weaving through each song with a capable cast of
musicians, including two drummers, three backup singers, two horns, a bassist,
and Tedeschi on rhythm guitar.
Fans of the band got exactly what they came for. Groovy,
bluesy, jamming, soulful songs featuring Tedeschi's vocals and Trucks' slide
guitar. I would expect more of the same on night two where the band is sure to
feature hits like "Midnight in Harlem" and "Yes We Will."
