Is there a more wide ranging American band than the one lead by the husband and wife team of Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi? During the 90 minute concert, they and their mix and match entourage delivered material that satisfied the ears of fans who came for a myriad of musical reasons, be it lyricism, visceral harmonies or relentless rhythms. The musical palate was filled with a rainbow of colors produced by the artists and their audio brush strokes.
Susan Tedschi, looking like your favorite English Lit teacher, delivered earth toned vocals on a lazy NOish take of “Sweet Virginia” as the horn section of Elizabeth Lea/tb, Kebbi Williams/ts and Ephraim Owens/tp growled out the harmonies. She showed her blues bonafides as she picked and grinned on the low ceiling juke jointed “I Pity The Fool” while taking you on a trip to a rural back porch for a homespun “Angel from Montgomery.”
Reminiscent of your avuncular wood shop teacher, Derek Trucks calmly spent the evening delivering sonic excursions with his slide guitar work on his left hand and mixing picking, strumming and plucking on the left to create a dynamic range to please rockers, bluesers and jazzers. His tasty selection of licks teamed with his wife’s penetrating voice while the rhythm team of Kofi Burbridge/key, Tim Lefebvre/b and the two drum team of Tyler Greenwell & J.J. Johnson delivered a sleek 6/8 groove on “Shame” while the evening’s highlight, an opus version of “Idle Wind,” mixed floating grooves, echoing horns and a riveting display of guitar musings that were jaw dropping, inspirational and melodic.
Adding to the mix was the rich baritone voice of Mike Mattison, who resembled your high school baseball coach and sang like a Baptist preacher during the two stepping boogie stomp of “Get What You Deserve” and vaudevillian “Laugh About It” which included the added voices of Mark Rivers and Alecia Chakour while Lea used her plunger valve to slide around like Ricky Henderson.
From the heartfelf rural “Sweet Mama” to the pleading “Right On Time,” the band summed up the attitude of the audience with their closing tune, the celebratory “I Want More.” Like the best of the old time variety shows, the Tedeschi Trucks bands has something for everyone, and that something fills the soul.
Opening the evening was David Luning, who sang, played guitar and harmonica, and with his rootsy quartet, delivered a bluesy country rock set with songs of jail, whiskey, bar scenes, danger, lost love and a message of searching for hope.
Upcoming shows at The Arlington Theatre include Kevin Hart 11/11, Pink Martini 12/02 and Chicago 02/11