Steve Earle is well known as one of the last in the Townes Van Zandt tradition of “take it or leave it” songwriters with songs that seem designed less to appeal to a commercial audience than to carry on a certain musical tradition and for the artist to express themself. Along with five other backing musicians, he performed songs from his catalog to a very receptive audience, featuring an interesting mixture of older and younger audiences.
The performance took place at the Troubadour, known for being a jumping-off point for artists like Elton John. The venue was small to medium-sized, with a standing area directly in front of the stage. On the stage left side of the second floor was a soundbooth which mixed all the live sound, and the rest of the second floor was a small seated area.
Overall, the performance by Steve Earle and the Dukes was faithful—sometimes almost identical—to the recorded versions of the songs in the set, and the audience seemed to get exactly what they wanted musically. Many of the songs sounded very close to the studio versions, featuring the full six-member band including Earle, with extensive mandolin, steel string pedal guitar and fiddle.
They were also treated with a number of stories from Earle about old friends, as well as an especially memorable version of a Jerry Jeff Walker song, “Mr. Bojangles.”
The stage presence from the band—with the exception of the lead guitarist—was one that was respectful but not overly concerned with pleasing the audience with any physical spectacle, instead putting its weight on the songs themselves. One might describe Earle’s stage presence as an almost “anti-charisma” that goes against the Mick Jagger or Axl Rose style of frontman, as his eyes rarely seemed to meet the audience nor directed an intense focus at any particular point in the venue to sing at. Instead, he appeared very human, which fits his music and persona perhaps. Whereas Bob Dylan spoke about Odetta’s hiding something behind her eyes when she performed, something that the artist knew but the audience didn’t, one might not sense that from Earle, who came off a lot more like an everyman who writes and performs very notable songs.
The performance was a polar contrast to a group like Pussy Riot, in which a prerecorded track did little to pull away from the essence of the performance, which at times featured only two of the four musicians onstage performing. In this case, a prerecorded track would likely have undermined the spirit of the performance, as there was little reliance on production or antics to entertain the audience. Instead, the fans that were there were clearly there to hear the songs performed live, and not just to catch a glimpse of a couple big names.
Being a disciple of Townes Van Zandt, the three-chord arrangements of many songs was obvious, and waiting for a fourth chord outside the typical 1-4-5 felt like waiting for a fish to pull on a line. Despite the songs being famous and clearly well received by the audience, in a way they displayed the genius of his mentor Townes Van Zandt, who, with largely the same chord arrangements, somehow created an even higher tier of songwriting. One major difference may have been the melodies, which were more forgettable from Steve Earle than Van Zandt, and instead seemed to rely more on the lyrics to carry the song.
One notable moment was the performance of “Wheel,” which begins with the lyrics, “If I took a rolling wheel.” It wasn’t just the content of the line that stood out but the fact that about a half dozen songs into the show, this was one of the first quieter moments in which the band backed off enough to clearly allow a listener’s sole focus onto the words.
Early songs were interspersed with stories about Earle’s more famous friends, including Townes Van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker and Jimmy Buffett. Earle explained that Jeff Walker was the one who introduced Buffett to Key West, which has become synonymous with his persona for the rest of his life.
A highlight was the performance of Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles,” introduced by Earle as a song he has sung since age 19. Of the entire set, this was one of the major singalong numbers for the crowd, with a chorus that seemed to invite a singalong. The song was also notable as one of the few songs that began fully acoustic with just Earle singing, which was fitting as it immediately followed his intimate story, and came in very strong with the full band.
Another highlight was the combination of two songs with roughly the same melody, “Dixieland” and “Galway Girl.” Both songs extensively feature the fiddle and mandolin, and created a rare classic Gaelic folk atmosphere immediately with this combination. Whereas many of Earle’s lyrics carry the vintage musical feeling in his catalog, these two songs stood out as carrying a vintage feeling as a result of the instrumentation.
Despite the aforementioned calmness and relative reservation of the band, there were moments of spontaneity and jubilance. For example, the lead guitarist—who looked in some ways like a white-haired Tom Petty—was especially enthusiastic about stepping close to the edge of the stage to interact with the audience during guitar solos. Beyond the interesting stories told, Earle also had some fun during songs, for example, changing up the wordsduring “Galway Girl” to describe the lost lover as having eyes that were black and hair that was blue instead of vice versa like in the record.
The audience was surprisingly full of younger fans, some wearing Steve Earle merchandise, many of whom stood in the main audience area downstairs of the Troubadour closer to the stage. This is an impressive feat given Steve Earle’s initial entry into the music scene in the ’70s. Upstairs, older fans were seated, and despite less physical movement along with the band’s groove, one could see in their eyes a deeper appreciation than fans dancing along. A certain flashing and stillness in their eyes as they watched Steve Earle perform revealed one of the most important elements of music, and that is to stir not only to dance to but to touch the soul. Steve Earle’s music does a decent job at that mixture, as the full band performs tightly enough and accessible enough musically for the younger fans downstairs to dance to and yet the songs are enough to reignite the deepest memories for the older fans who were once as young as them.
Photos by Boston Schulz
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