This week's WXPN Free-at-Noon concert was Uncle Tupelo offshoot Son Volt.
After a strong debut, Son Volt put out a few very good records that didn't differ very much in their sound. The band's creativity seemed to hit a plateau (albeit a very high plateau) and they kind of got lost in the shadow of that other Uncle Tupelo spinoff, Wilco.
With 2005's Okemah And The Melody Of Riot, however, Farrar pumped some new life into the band and got people talking about them again. Judging from this concert (and samples from their upcoming release that you can hear at their website) Son Volt's energy seems to have gone up yet another level. Farrar has found a way to expand his alt-county sound while at the same time staying true to his Uncle Tupelo era Americana roots.
A quick (eight nine songs crammed into about thirty minutes, plus a couple off-the-air encores) but impressive concert.
More shots from the concert over at my photoblog.
Update: I forgot to mention that, as always with the Free-at-Noon shows, a stream of this concert is available at NPR's website.
I was there too, pretty good show (I had never heard of them before the concert).
Posted by: Scott McNulty | 2007.02.26 at 02:20 PM