Austin City Limits

All good things come to an end, and so it is with our 41st taping season. But we went out with a flourish, courtesy of Tedeschi Trucks Band. Co-leader Susan Tedeschi is no stranger to these shores, of course, having appeared on Austin City Limits before in seasons 24 and 29. But this is the first appearance of TTB, the band she formed five years ago with husband/master guitarist Derek Trucks. Mixing new material from the forthcoming LP Let Me Get By with choice covers, many drawn from the twelve-piece’s recent tribute show to Joe Cocker’s legendary album Mad Dogs and Englishmen, TTB gave us a memorable performance that perfectly closed out the season while being streamed live around the world to an audience of thousands.

The set began with the funky “There’s a Break in the Road,” a tune originally found on Tedeschi’s solo LP Back to the River. The band then jumped into the first of the new songs – “Don’t Know What It Means” found the pair trading solos over a soulful groove, with a side of a capella singing and sax solos. With no pause, Tedeschi then put her guitar to the side in order to give full reign to her scorching voice on a cover of the Box Tops’ “The Letter,” via its rollicking arrangement from Englishmen. The group returned to Let Me Get By for “Laugh About It,” an infectious slice of soul/pop that took on the aura of a gospel revival. Dipping back into the Mad Dogs’ repertoire, TTB took Cocker’s version of the Leonard Cohen standard “Bird On a Wire” and made it their own by virtue of a sparse arrangement and a stunning Tedeschi vocal. “She is Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin’s love child,” remarked Darren Addy who was watching the livestream on our ACLTV YouTube channel.  

Eschewing classic rock nostalgia for a bit, the band gave the audience another pair of samples from Let Me Get By. The shuffling jazz/funk title track put the spotlight on keyboardist Kofi Burbridge, while the jumping “I Want More” put Motown through its jam band paces with a gentle jazz coda. The group then revisited its Grammy Award-winning debut album Revelator for the silky smooth “Midnight in Harlem,” preceded by a smoky-improvised intro that had the crowd applauding Trucks’ every lick. Having thoroughly established their prowess for original music, TTB jumped back to Mad Dogs and Englishmen for a New Orleans-influenced reinterpretation of the Ray Charles-associated R&B tune “Sticks and Stones,” sung by backup singer Mike Mattison. Mattison and Tedeschi then took on a cover of Derek & the Dominos’ “Keep On Growing,” as Trucks laid down licks that would make Eric Clapton proud.

The band then dug deep into the blues, taking Tedeschi back to her roots with a searing cover of Bobby Blue Bland’s “I Pity the Fool” – an appropriate choice, since Tedeschi shared her first ACL episode with Bland back in 1998, and one that allowed her to show off her own formidable six-string skills. Tedeschi Trucks Band ended the main set with “The Storm,” the centerpiece of second LP Made Up Mind. An extended intro gave Austin jazz king Ephraim Owens (last seen on our stage backing Mumford & Sons) plenty of space to bounce off of Trucks’ spurts of guitar, before Trucks and Tedeschi bashed out the blues-rocking main riff, the group locked into the 70s soul groove and there were solos all around. The crowd went wild – “They are on fire tonight!” enthused YouTube viewer LIZISHIELDS 1.

But of course, that wasn’t the end. As Tedeschi announced that it was their last show of the year, the band returned to the stage to close out the running themes. “Anyhow” was the final new song of the evening, and an easygoing, 70s-style soul groove it was. The show finally came to a climax with “Let’s Go Get Stoned,” the Ray Charles hit essayed by Cocker and his Mad Dogs and given new life by TTB via round robin vocal lines and a traditionalist bent to the original R&B arrangement. It was a slam-bang finish to a blazing set that both live and online audiences loved, and a fine way to bring our 41st taping season to a close. “Excellent direction,” commented YouTube viewer Stu Levitan. “Whole production excellent!” We can’t wait for you to see this performance when it airs as a full-hour episode on February 13th, 2016 on your local PBS station.

Grammy-award winning, multi-platinum Zac Brown Band has been a consistent presence in the music world since 2008’s major label debut The Foundation, and it was inevitable that they would eventually make their way to our stage. So we were pleased to welcome one of music’s biggest live acts, celebrating the success of their latest record Welcome Home with a career-spanning set in front of a crowd practically vibrating with excitement.

Said crowd cheered wildly as the octet took the stage. ZBB launched into the easygoing country rock of “Home Grown,” both a statement of purpose and a clear fan favorite. Brown kept the theme of home and comfort going with Welcome Home’s poppy “Family Table,” before entering a more philosophical mode with the anthemic “Quiet Your Mind,” which he called “one of my favorite things we’ve ever recorded.” The group brought down the intensity with the rolling country ballad “Sweet Annie,” before starting back up that ramp with the power-of-music testament “Day That I Die.” “I never get tired of playing this song,” Brown declared before easing into “Free,” a flowing anthem that smoothly segued into Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” to the crowd’s delight.

The band dipped into its country bag for “Goodbye in Her Eyes” and “2 Place at 1 Time,” an ode to trying to be on the road and with one’s family at once. ZBB then cranked up the congas and the clavinet for the rocking grooves of “Day For the Dead,” a salute to Hallowe’en and the Day of the Dead that allowed the musicians to really stretch out with both their instruments and some impressive counterpoint vocals. The band slowed down the tempo but turned up the heat for the #1 hit “Colder Weather,” a power ballad in the grand tradition. Welcome Home contributed “Roots,” once again affirming the inextricable bond Brown has with music, before ZBB stripped their sound down for the ballad “My Old Man,” a tribute to father figures everywhere. The rock returned for the power waltz “The Muse,” before the band closed the main set in tribute to Gregg Allman, burning through the Allman Brothers Band classic “Whipping Post” with keyboardist/guitarist Clay Cook on soulful lead vocals and Brown taking lead guitar. 

Of course, it wasn’t really over. After the audience showed its loud appreciation, the octet returned for “All the Best,” a heartfelt take on John Prine’s great ballad. After expressing his love for Prine, Brown immediately launched into the fingerpicking pattern of “Chicken Fried,” the band’s biggest smash. The crowd cheered wildly and began singing along immediately, amping up even further when the band brought on a member of the United States Armed Services in appreciation of their service. To close out the night, Brown donned a bass guitar and thanked the band’s crew, before launching into a surprise (well, except to longtime ZBB fans): a pounding cover of Metallica’s greatest hit “Enter Sandman,” sung by guitarist John Driskell Hopkins and highlighted by Jimmy DeMartini’s effects-laden electric violin solo. Brown introduced the band as the finally satiated audience showed its love. It was a great show, and we can’t wait for you to see it when it airs as part of our upcoming Season 43 which premieres this fall on your local PBS station.