There was a whole lotta soul rolling off of the Vogue Theatre stage last night. That’s what happens when you’ve got a hugely talented 11-piece band joyfully letting go with bluesy, heartfelt, and sometimes funky-as-hell rock music.
That’s also what happens whenever bottleneck-guitar master Derek Trucks’ glass slide grazes the strings of his trusty red Gibson SG.
And it doesn’t hurt when you’ve got a one-of-a-kind vocalist like Trucks’ wife, Susan Tedeschi, wailing away like it was her birthday or something.
Actually, the beautful lady turned 43 today, but that didn’t stop the sell-out crowd at the Vogue from singing “Happy Birthday” to her as soon as the lights went up.
The TTB was touring in support of its latest album, Made Up Mind, and served up some of that album’s finest material during the show, including the boogie-based title track.
The concert hit an emotional high point on another Made Up Mind track, “It’s So Heavy”, which was written in response to the unspeakable tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary last year. Tedeschi and Trucks, who were married in 2011, have two children of their own, ages 9 and 11.
Things moved into seriously bluesy territory on the rendition of Elmore James’ much-covered gem, “The Sky is Crying”, especially when Tedeschi took over on guitar for a tasty solo of her own.
The group–which also includes keyboardist Kofi Burbridge, saxophonist Kebbi Williams, trumpeter Maurice Brown, trombonist Saunders Sermons, backing vocalists Mike Mattison and Mark Rivers, drummers Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson, and new bassist Tim Lefebvre–also performed some tunes from the Grammy-winning Revelator album of 2011, including “Midnight in Harlem” and “Bound for Glory”.
When it was all over, Trucks left the stage just before Tedeschi, allowing the crowd a little more time to lay on some last-second birthday wishes.
PHOTOS BY KEVIN BROWNE