The Tedeschi Trucks Band stunned me Thursday night with a jaw-dropping show full of scorching solos, soulful singing and impeccable musicianship.
I just wish there hadn’t been so MUCH of it.
I’m probably going to catch heat from TTB fans for this. But after the sixth or seventh song stretching past 10 minutes with solos and extended jamming, I found myself starting to check out and drift at the south Fort Myers show. A little goes a long way, and I yearned for some shorter, punchier songs to break up all those impressive, wandering sound explorations.
Then again, who am I kidding? Those extended jams and improvs are exactly what Tedeschi Trucks fans love about them. I just happen to have a low tolerance for too much jamming (I felt the same way when I saw Blues Traveler at The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon — and those guys didn’t jam nearly as much as TTB).
That being said, I still loved my first experience seeing the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Guitarist Derek Trucks (also with the Allman Brothers Band), singer/guitarist Susan Tedeschi and their 12-member band played a sprawling three-hour show at Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall (including a 35-minute intermission) that featured fan-favorite songs, mind-blowing solos and some tasty covers.
Trucks is often name-checked as one of the best guitarists in the world, and he didn’t disappoint Thursday. And not every song — just as he told me in an interview last week — required a five-minute solo. Trucks impressed with some of his smaller moments, too, such as the gentle Indian flourishes he played at the beginning of “Midnight in Harlem.”
Then again, Trucks almost knocks you back into your seat when he fully unleashes his inner guitar hero — just like he did on a cover of “The Sky Is Crying.” His emotional solo started slow and deliberate and kept building and building until it finally exploded into a sweaty, intense and deeply emotional release.
And let’s be honest: If you don’t solo on “The Sky Is Crying,” you probably shouldn’t solo at all.
His wife, Tedeschi, blew me away, too, with a few solos of her own and especially her raw, soulful vocals on songs such as a stripped-down cover of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” and the funky empowerment of show opener “Laugh About It.” Her voice was powerful and often pretty, but not too pretty and with just enough grit to keep it interesting. And she nearly brought me to tears on the beautiful new song “Shame" — especially those final wails that faded into a hushed prayer at the end.
The band is more than just the Tedeschi and Trucks in the title, though, and many of its members are almost as well known by fans. “Mike!” fans shouted as back-up singer Mike Mattison stepped forward for a lead on “Leavin’ Trunk” that would have made Al Green proud. And I loved saxophonist Kebbi Williams’ chaotic, staccato jazz solos, especially when trading licks with Trucks on the funky, hard-driving “Don’t Know What It Means."
Aside from masterful performances from a band that includes two drummers, three back-up singers and three horn players, these musicians are also masters of dynamics. Each song was like a mini symphony full of peaks and valleys, with the music often boiling down to a gentle groove or just one or two instruments — and sometimes one single, hovering note — before bubbling up again into full-band explosions that raised the intensity to 11, and then perhaps dialing it back down again to something quieter and more thoughtful. All those ups and downs packed a lot of emotion into each sprawling song.
Highlights of the night — and there were many — included a soulful, almost sexy cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire”; the stirring “Shame” (especially Tedeschi’s tender vocals and Trucks’ soloing that went from fiery to downright mournful); Elizabeth Lea’s kick-ass trombone solo on “Leavin’ Trunk” (a trombone solo!); and the muted moments at the beginning of “Midnight in Harlem” (including Williams’ saxophone, blown so softly that, at one point, you could hear the rush of his breath through the brass).
And even more impressive: The band did it all with minimal flash and a bare-bones stage show. No fancy lasers or pyro. No guitar-hero poses or distorted guitar faces (in fact, Trucks remained mostly stoic throughout his solos as he concentrated on making the magic happen). Just the songs and the musicianship. No more, no less.
I’m a late convert to the Tedeschi Trucks Band, I admit. I’ve never gotten into their studio recordings and found them somewhat sterile. But then I discovered their live albums, and that changed everything. They’re vital testaments of a band that LIVES on the stage.
And that was obvious from their Fort Myers show.
Yes, all that jamming may have been a little too much for this relative newbie. But I still came away impressed and — while not exactly wanting MORE — I'm looking forward to the next time I can see them live.
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter), @crunnells1 (Instagram)