To see, truly and dutifully, what it means to be a band, look no further than the empty space onstage during Tedeschi Trucks Band’s performance at a sold-out Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, Rhode Island. The vacant spot- between trombonist Elizabeth Lea and saxophonist Kebbi Williams usually is occupied by trumpeter, Ephraim Owens. Since August, Owens has been on leave from the group for personal reasons, yet his place, not to mention his mic stand, remain ready to go as soon as he returns. It’s a conspicuous, conscious, and symbolic nod that, even without Owens in body, his contribution in the dozen-strong ensemble is recognized in spirit.
Still, it was the contributions of the eleven onstage for this one-off in Rhode Island’s capital city, as TTB had an opening amidst a multi-show run up I-95 in Boston, that lit up a two-hour concert, in trademark fashion, showcasing each of their prodigious talents. Whether on tracks from the band’s latest—a 4-LP conceptual piece, I Am the Moon—or on deeper cuts from across the catalog, or on covers that mostly paid tribute to the finest guitar players of all time (and, once again, solidified Derek Trucks’ place among them), Tedeschi Trucks Band defined the idea of sharing the spotlight.
There was namesake, frontwoman, and guitarist Susan Tedeschi, whose voice howls and soothes, shimmers and slices, lilts and levitates, in a blues-drenched dream. And her husband, and counterpart on guitar, Trucks, who somehow finds fresh and provocative ways to elevate and dominate a guitar. Let it be stated that while Trucks is, perhaps, the best slide guitar player on the planet, it’s his work without his bottleneck that has many calling him the best guitarist, period, and rightly so.
It’s keyboardist and vocalist Gabe Dixon accentuating or leading, depending on the need. It’s Lea and Williams locking down horn-line harmonies or blowing captivating solos. The rhythm engine room is triple-manned, with Tyler “Falcon” Greenwell and Isaac Eady on drums, and Brandon Boone on bass, fueling the fire, from spark to full combustion. Or the trio of vocalists—Mark Rivers, Mike Mattison, and Alecia Chakour—who each could and have led bands of their own, stepping out center stage or dazzling in the wings. Yet, it’s more than just a list of names and their various roles. It’s the obvious camaraderie, the sense of collective purpose, illuminating throughout that raises these musicians into rarified air.
Particularly, on a stellar consecutive pair of Derek and the Dominos’ songs, did TTB display all of its gifts. First, on the winding and melancholy “Bell Bottom Blues,” then on “Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad?” with Trucks and Williams, on the latter, stunning the capacity house. There were other Trucks moments that left them thrilled, including two solos bookending Dixon’s delicious B-3 dexterity on a take of The Allman Brothers Band’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” that emerged out of a gorgeous “Idle Wind.” Or a segue, later, into “Beck’s Bolero.” Tedeschi, too, sparkled on a show-stopping edition of “Anyhow,” and as a duo with Dixon for the delicate encore of Leon Russell’s “A Song for You.”
Humble and commanding. Cathartic and uplifting. Dignified and unified. Tedeschi Trucks Band, as it’s been written before and will be written again, is the exemplary definition of a band, and as such, one of the more dynamic, talented, and engaging expanded ensembles ever to grace the annals of rock-and-roll.
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