There was a certain amount of trepidation in my heart, going to see the new Son Volt lineup… I had managed to catch their showcase at this year's South By Southwest festival, and I was definitely in the non-plussed category with the performance. The rhythm section was solid and great, and easily shouldered the weight of playing those classic Son Volt songs that many folks have come to know and love. The new guitar player, however, was less than I could have hoped for in a replacement for the inimitable Dave Boquist. In my head I kept running around the simple question: Why did Dave leave after playing guitar with Jay Farrar for so many years? I was stumped.

Well, my hesitations were soon laid to rest, as the obvious change in the band from March's performance was immediately apparent. From the moment the band began playing, I knew that this was either a different guitarist, or a few hard months of practice had really paid off. The set at the Fox Theatre was blistering. The crowd was there to experience the full band rock and country mayhem of Son Volt, and that is precisely what Jay Farrar and company delivered. Tossing a good selection of songs from the upcoming Okemah And The Melody Of Riot album into the set, Son Volt was reborn in phoenix-like glory. So many classic songs were played that it was hard to keep up, and if someone were to hand me the setlist, I would not have believed it possible to hear some of those songs live. The set lasted a good hour and ten minutes, with songs ranging from the beautiful near acoustic majesty of "Tear Stained Eye" to the bluesy, hard driving rock of "Bandages & Scars" and the haunting downbeat of "Holocaust".

The crowd eagerly urged the band back on stage for an encore that consisted of precisely what it should have, and then some. Farrar had saved some of the best for last, with "Windfall" and "Drown" receiving exactly the kind of reception that I would expect. But Jay did us all one better, and went on to play four more songs, including a couple more tunes from the new record. "Afterglow 61" was nothing short of inspiring and certainly revved the crowd up for what is sure to be one of the finest releases of the year.

It was a pleasure, after so many years of seeing Jay Farrar live with only Dave Boquist accompanying him on guitar, to see a full band touring to perform some of the classic songs from the older Son Volt albums. Also, having heard a few songs from the forthcoming release, it added extra dimension and heart to experience the songs live. Son Volt has returned, burning a brighter star than I could have ever imagined, once again cementing Jay Farrar's place in the musical world. Catch them while you can folks, who knows how long something this good can last?

-L. Keane

Son Volt
Fox Theatre, Boulder Colorado
June 19, 2005
www.jayfarrar.net

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