The Barrymore Theatre, Madison, WI, USA - 9 September 1999
Like vast fields of corn and steamboats prowling the Mississippi, there's something uniquely Midwestern about alt- country stars Son Volt.
It might be its powerful brand of country-tinged rock or the lack of pretentiousness in the band's down-to-earth tunes. Whatever the reason, Son Volt has managed to build a devoted following.
Fresh off a slot opening for Midwesterner-done-good John Mellencamp, Son Volt has hit the road once more--this time with the Chicago-based insurgent-country act Devil in a Woodpile in tow. Thursday night witnessed the tour playing to a packed house at Madison's Barrymore Theatre.
The band served up slice upon slice of elegantly simple and skillfully delivered rock numbers to the eagerly awaiting audience.
Vocalist, rhythm guitarist and songwriter Jay Farrar stood spinning his heartland-flavored yarns of loss from center stage without once allowing his stoic persona to slip. The lack of emotion presented may have served to keep the crowd in an unusually sedate state, considering the obvious affection with which Son Volt was viewed.
The rest of the band seemed to slip into the background as Farrar's personality quickly became the focal point of the performance.
Devil in a Woodpile managed to prime the crowd exceptionally well for the arrival of the headliners with its stripped-down, hillbilly-styled stomp.
Friends of the Midwestern drawl congregated Thursday night in hopes of ingesting some of the best country-leaning rock around--a wish that seems to have been granted.
--Brian Gettler