St Louis Review

Greetings, wild mountain nation!

BT put on a great show tonight. I won't try to be comprehensive, but since they played some new material, I'm home and I can't sleep, I thought I'd put in my two cents.

Here's a rough setlist. Some tunes are definitely missing though:

Destroyer, Fast Bullets, Astronaut (I think), Country Caravan, Silver Moon, "Asleep for Days" (new I think), Fletcher (new), Love and Hate, Sleepytime, BRK, God and Suicide, Lady on the Water, Below the Hurricane, Furr, Saturday Night, Big BB, New tune (Street Fighting Son?), WMN

E: Man Who Would Speak True (solo), Jericho, Good Times Bad Times

The new material is fantastic. Fletcher has some great lyrics about whiskey and driving through the mountains--ingredients for instant-classic BT. The song I have labeled as Street Fighting Son, though, is really the best of the new material we heard tonight. BT puts on its best Led Zep with this one (complete with Jimmy Page-esque vocals), and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if this becomes the song that finally breaks that dance floor at the Crystal Ballroom. It's killer.

I have a bit of a beef with their treatment of Hurricane, however. The last time I saw them (at the wretchedly hot Off Broadway here in St. Louis), they had some additional instrumentation at the beginning that gave it a surreal, sitting-in-the-living-room-while-it-storms-outside feel.  That's gone, and I think it really detracts from the song.

Saturday Night, on the other hand, has some great new effects. The feel actually reminds me of a festive, late-'80s Feel Like a Stranger. It definitely got the crowd going (actually, the entire closing quartet of the main set was sick).

The encore was certainly entertaining. Everyone was thrilled to hear Man Who Would Speak True, and a small miscue on the vocals had everyone laughing.  But the real treat with the encore was the high-octane Good Times Bad Times. BT used it to continue the "Street Fighting Son" feel and it had a great impact on the crowd.

On the whole, I like the new emphasis on electric BT. This band can rage and it's high time they embraced that skill. This will be especially important as they move into bigger venues -- they'll need songs that can fill the bigger spaces.

A few general notes about the venue and scene:

The sound was great. Excellent separation. The temperature was appropriate--a welcome relief from their last show. Crowd was chatty, but I guess that's to be expected at a small venue.

Ages and Ages put on a great set. I hope they get the attention they deserve. If you're seeing a show later on this tour, be sure you get there on time to catch these guys.

That's all I have. Another great BT show. Thanks to the band and best wishes to all of you reading -- I hope you see shows even better than this one!

-Dunwoody

That's a great review there Dunwoody!  Astronaut and Street Fighting Son were good then...?   I am pumped to hear them.  I was at the Bluebird show and they played Might Find it Cheap, Your Crying Eyes, Fletcher, American Goldwing, and My Home Town off the new album.   Might Find it Cheap and Your Crying Eyes definitely had a Zepplin feel to them - very rockin.  My Home Town was fantastic in the 'Fletcher' feel.   Wow this new album is going to be good!  I am thrilled to hear someone review the others, we didn't hear, as great tunes too. 

Actually, Dunwoody, you might have a pretty good idea of what the new album will be like if you grab the Bluebird show off of Archive. The recording is great!  

Glad to hear the show was good.  My 'Bama friend who saw them for the first time was ecstatic about them, "...This is good ol' southern rock!".   Good twist for BT, their bringing the heat!

Thanks, blitzface. To answer your question, yes, Astronaut was good. It would have fit nicely on DotV, imo, if that gives you a sense of its feel. I liked the lyrics I could make out, but you know how it is when you're hearing something for the first time live.

Thanks for the tip on the Bluebird show. I'll check that out. It got onto Archive fast! This new sound is a great step forward and I'll be excited to hear the other new ones.

Do you live in KC? I'm thinking of heading out to Lawrence to see St. Vincent at Liberty Hall. Have you been? Any thoughts on the venue?

Hey there Dunwoody! I was happy you posted so I can get an idea of what to expect for tonights show at Wicker Park Fest in Chicago.

Wanted to let you know Asleep for Days isn't a new track it's off an older DIY album called Field Rexx.

Again, thanks for the post.

Thanks, Leigh. Have a great time at Wicker Park and let us know how it is!