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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Jason Isbell held the stage for his two-night run at the Calvin Simmons Theatre at Henry J. Kaiser Center with both the energy of an artist with a stunning new album less than a week old and the freedom of a man armed only with a microphone and some of his acoustic guitars. The concerts blended the freshest material in his catalog with new interpretations of beloved classics in front of a sold-out crowd.
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Night two saw Isbell in fine spirits – sharing stories and feelings and even taking some risks on guitar. After playing the title track off the new album “Foxes in The Snow”, Isbell laughed as his guitar tech brought out his next acoustic guitar. “I went for it,” he told him and then addressed the crowd. “The reason I messed up there is so that you would know this was not all pre-recorded,” he laughed.
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Actually, the reason I messed up was that I got too comfortable and tried to play something too cool.” In case there was any doubt to the performance’s live legitimacy, the spotlight that had shone on him went out during “The Life You Chose” as Isbell continued his aggressive approach to the song and finished it completely in the dark. The crowd roared in appreciation at his “on with the show” approach.
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“When I was a kid, I had a Jerry Garcia shirt with the hand on the back of it. (Garcia’s handprint famously was missing most of his middle finger due to a childhood accident),” he ad-libbed to the crowd in a place just steps away from where the Grateful Dead played over 50 shows over the years. “Somehow my teacher thought that my shirt was flipping her off and sent me home to change. If the middle finger was “f#@k you” maybe Jerry’s hand was saying “F#@k me”.”
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Still in the dark, he started into “The Last of My Kind” and was quickly bathed in the light as the spotlight returned to heavy audience applause and a wide Isbell smile. As he did on many of the night’s songs, Isbell finished the acoustic version of track from the “The Nashville Sound” album with beautiful, intricate guitar playing.
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
The newly remodeled Calvin Simmons Theatre has only hosted a handful of concerts since its recent reopening and the acoustics on this night were staggering as guitar notes seemed to have plenty of space to breathe and the sound of Isbell’s foot stomping along as he played could be heard up in the balcony.
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
In the newly reborn theater, Isbell presented the tracks off his new album that reflected his new life of love lost and found. With his divorce from musician Amanda Shires having just been finalized this week, songs such as the powerful, brand-new “True Believer” and “Gravelweed” along with longtime favorite “If We Were Vampires” provided heavy emotional depth. “I’m sorry the love songs all mean different things today,” Isbell sang in Gravelweed.
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
“Good While It Lasted” and “Wind Behind the Rain” provided the more optimistic tone of a man undergoing a new search for love. “And last time I tried this sober, I was seventeen,” Isbell sang in “Good While It Lasted.”
Providing the introduction for his first-ever live performance of the new album’s “Wind Behind the Rain,” Isbell told how the song originated from a request from his brother’s wife for their wedding. “It was a very country wedding,” he said. “Alabama folks. I s#@t you not, the boutonnieres for the groomsman were made with spent shotgun shells.”
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Emotions aside, Isbell was in fine spirits with a wide smile when addressing the audience and sharing lighthearted quips throughout the night.
“I think the guitar is the best instrument, because you can take it with you and accompany yourself,” he told the audience right before “Live Oak.” “You’re not going to take a piano with you to a cocktail party and you’re not gonna sing ‘Wonderwall’ while you play the flute.”
Played acoustically classic songs such as “Alabama Pines” and “Elephant” – as well as “Cast Iron Skillet” from the recent album “Weathervanes” -seemed perfectly tuned for the sparse arrangements and Isbell stretching out the arrangements with additional guitar nuances.
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| Jason Isbell @ the Calvin Simmons Theatre (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
Isbell’s three-song encore was memorable – starting with the new “Ride to Robert’s.” It was by far the most country song of the night and saw Isbell’s guitar-playing at his most ambitious. “King of Oklahoma”’s lamenting of the opioid drug crisis in America carried a more somber than normal weight delivered acoustically with a soft intro into a fiery version that culminated into a tragedy-toned guitar ending. Isbell ended the night with the tender, but defiant “True Believer” featuring Isbell howling out the night’s deepest, most personal lyrics before a quiet guitar ending and a standing ovation from the capacity crowd:
“All your girlfriends say I broke your fu#$ing heart, and I don't like it
There's a letter on the nightstand I don't think I'll ever read
Well, I finally found a match, and you kept daring me to strike it
And now I have to let it burn to let it be.”
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