As reported previously, IJ and our much better halves took in the Jason Isbell/Frank Turner show. Scroll down for the Frank Turner set list. Here’s my report and set list for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.
I don’t want to be one of those guys, but Jason Isbell is, in my humble opinion, the best songwriter on the planet today. Oh I can hear ya — “But SeaDick, Bob Dylan is still on the planet, Paul McCartney is still on the planet, that is a very bold statement.” Yeah, well I’m sticking with it. Present day, new music, Isbell is the man in the song writing department. Pretty damn good from a live performance standpoint too. If you like rock and roll, Isbell and his team are all you need. The show was pretty spectacular. The band was clearly on its A game and the set list, as you will see below, gave us just about everything we could want from an Isbell standpoint, old, new, ballads, rock anthems. Just a flat out great performance. The only very minor complaint is that his wife, Amanda Shires Isbell, who has been playing fiddle on this tour wasn’t there. (She’s great too so give her a listen as well.). I understand from the interwebs that she jumped off the tour bus on Thursday to do a couple of solo shows on the east coast. The fact that the Isbell’s daughter turned 2 on Friday may have also had something to do with it. The band seemed to fill the missing fiddle parts with some electric guitar and that turned out just fine.
Here are some links to Mr. Isbell for Spotify and iTunes. If it turns out that you like what you hear, then you should check out this album from the Drive By Truckers. That’s where he got his start.
Lastly, before I give you the set list, check out this Tiny Desk Concert from NPR.
Without further ado, here’s the set list. Per usual, the song titles are links to the songs on Apple Music.
1. Anxiety
2. 24 Frames
8. Molotov
10. Outfit
12. Cumberland Gap
13. Speed Trap Town
15. Stockholm
16. Cover Me Up
19. Super 8
SeaDick out.
Monkey With A Gun 