Steve Earle
Transcendental Blues
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It’s been dubbed the "no dry cleaning tour." Leaving the suits he wore on last year’s bluegrass tour at home, Steve Earle has returned to the road with a looser attitude and a rocking new band of Dukes.

With a camera crew there taping the show for future broadcast, Earle took the stage wearing a red bowling shirt and the kind of hip, nerdy-looking bifocals some people wear to make themselves look more intelligent. After all, he will be a published author soon. The band immediately ripped into three songs from his latest Transcendental Blues, including the Revolver-esque title track and the bouncy country rocker "Another Town." Over the course of the two hour and twenty-five minute set, Earle and the Dukes took on all but two of the new album’s tracks.

But that still left time for plenty of oldies from Earle’s catalogue. 1997’s eclectic El Corazon was well-represented by songs like "Taneytown" and a crunching version of "NYC." He introduced "Telephone Road" with a story about the first time he saw the Houston thoroughfare when he took a trip to see a ZZ Top concert there as a young man. In introducing "Christmas in Washington," his folky plea for the re-birth of activism, he praised the Smithsonian’s decision to move a Woody Guthrie exhibit to a new location so it could continue its run. But he feared they would stick him "in a corner with the other commies."

Earle also reached back to 1996’s I Feel Alright for "Hard Core Troubadour" which featured some nice lead guitar work from the newest Duke, former Blackheart and Del Lord and Bottle Rockets producer Eric "Roscoe" Ambel. Switching back and forth between a 12-string Danelectro and a twangy Telecaster, Ambel also provided nice harmony vocals on a number of songs. His leads were occasionally too obtrusive on Earle’s quieter numbers like "Goodbye" from his 1995 post prison comeback album Train A Comin. And Ambel could stand to work on his stage presence a bit. Overall though, he did a good job of providing much of the evening’s rock and roll crunch.

This edition of the Dukes also includes longtime Earle sideman Kelly Looney on bass and former dB Will Rigby on drums. Rigby provided a wicked backbeat on what may have been the definitive version of the crowd favorite "Copperhead Road" which Earle introduced with a long mandolin solo. Rigby also sounded great kicking into the set closing "The Unrepentant" after a few minutes of squalling guitar feedback from Earle and Ambel.

The set also included a Neil Young-like version of "My Old Friend the Blues" from 1986’s Guitar Town, which Earle played not with the acoustic guitar of the original recording but with a distorted electric. He strapped on a harmonica for the Beatle-esque "More Than I Can Do" and slowed things down effectively with songs like "Halo ‘Round the Moon."

Earle didn’t tell quite as many stories as he normally does but mostly let the music speak for itself. One exception was on "Over Yonder (Jonathan’s Song)," which he introduced by relating his experience witnessing an execution in Texas and his opposition to the death penalty.

Earle’s Celtic folk experimentation was also well represented with fun versions of "Steve’s Last Ramble" and "Galway Girl" (featuring Earle manager Dan Gillis on penny whistle).

The show was so packed with musical highlights, there were at least three times I thought the set must be winding down only to see Earle switch guitars and play on. He seemed to effortlessly switch between intense rockers and introspective numbers all night long. Two encores were highlighted by covers of the Beatles ("No Reply"), Nirvana ("Breed") and Keith Richards ("Before They Make Me Run").

It was only about two songs into Marah’s opening 45-minute set that people around me, realizing my familiarity with the band, began asking urgently, "who the heck are these guys?!" Well folks, Marah is the name. M-A-R-A-H and they’re a real live rock and roll band from South Philadelphia. The band showcased one of its major influences, throwing a couple of verses of Springsteen’s "She’s the One" into "Catfisherman." The Springsteen-inspired word-barrage "Point Breeze" was also a highlight. Singer Dave Bielanko picked up a banjo for the war vet epic "Round Eye Blues" which also featured some nice lap steel guitar. And brother Serge put down his guitar and picked up a harmonica for an excellent long solo on "History of Where Someone Has Been Killed." Steve Earle, who has been a mentor to the band and signed them to his E-Squared label, could be seen during Marah’s set on the balcony over the stage smoking a pipe and looking on like a proud papa. In addition to touring with Earle, Marah is also opening a slew of dates for The Who and Jimmy Page/Black Crowes tours. So most of America has little excuse for missing one of the best live bands on tour this summer.

Check out Steve Earle's website at http://www.wbr.com/steveearle/index.html

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