Tedeschi Trucks Band Returns To NJ's Count Basie Theatre With Sean Walsh [Photos/Audio/Video]

For nearly over a decade, Tedeschi Trucks Band has made the rounds through the small coastal town of Red Bank, New Jersey. This little jewel of a city takes pride in its music and arts community, epitomized by the landmark Count Basie Theatre. The band made their return to the New Jersey venue on Tuesday, where they treated attendees to a mix of originals and covers for their first of two performances.

To commence Tuesday evening’s entertainment, an opening act provided by the New Jersey native Sean Walsh, hailing from New Brunswick. The founding member of The National Reserve brought his bawdy barroom rock n roll for a thirty-minute set before the stage was set and the lights were dimmed.

Members of the Tedeschi Trucks Band are no strangers to this venue, as they performed there for the first time in 2010–only three months after their first official gig together at Wanee Festival. Though the lineup has changed with the passing of Kofi Burbridge last year and the replacement of bassist Oteil Burbridge with Tim Lefebvre, Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi have maintained the sturdy foundation that this massive twelve-piece band has rallied around.

Digging through the archives, Tedeschi Trucks Band took “Come See About Me”, a cut from 2011’s Revelator off the shelf and breathed new life into the resurrected tune. “Don’t Know What It Means” from 2016’s Let Me Get By gave Tedeschi her first chance of the night to dig in with a bluesy guitar solo before the call-and-response section had the audience clapping along. Kebbi Williams‘ saxophone solo embraced the chaos, breaking down, and later building back up to assist with a rolling segue into “High & Mighty”. Tedeschi showed off her vocal strength while accompanied by a hearty horn section along with Mark Rivers, Mike Mattison, and Alecia Chakour’s backing vocal harmonies.

Derek Trucks’ slide guitar introduced “Hear Me” from Let Me Get By before the band worked their way into a lengthy cover of Derek & the Dominos‘ “Why Does Love Have to Be So Sad?” Mike Mattison stepped to the front of the stage to dish out a gritty blues-infused performance of his own tune, “Life is Crazy”, in sync with Trucks’ guitar.

A rare appearance of “Little by Little” on the setlist featured more sizzling guitar licks from Tedeschi’s corner. This 1968 Junior Wells song was featured on Tedeschi’s 1998 album Just Won’t Burn, as well as Gregg Allman’s 2011 Low Country Blues album. Derek returned to his Derek Trucks Band songbook for a rowdy rendition of “Joyful Noise”.

Another opening track off an album with the same name followed with “Signs” off TTB’s 2019 studio release. Mattison, Chakour, and  Tedeschi shared vocal duties in the gospel-sounding harmonies. Staying on the same album, a behemoth 13-minute “Shame” continued last year’s tradition of trying to outdo itself with each and every performance. Susan left centerstage to dance among the rhythm section as Trucks tore the song structure asunder. Derek returned the favor, clearing the stage to give Susan room to roam through the lyrical complexities of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright.” Tedeschi’s powerful voice led the band through “Have You Ever Loved a Woman?” as the extended set wound down.

To conclude this nearly two-hour set, the band hammered home a drawn-out “I Want More” that gave what seemed every musician on-stage a chance to include their personal input on the Let Me Get By tune. TTB newcomer Brandon Boone chiseled out a heavy bass-solo that was the highlight of the closing song.

Upon return for an encore, Tedeschi Trucks Band played a ten-and-a-half-minute rendition of Gregg Allman’s “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’”. The tune comes off The Allman Brothers Band’s second studio album, Idlewild South, released in 1970.

Watch the band’s encore performance of “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin'” from Tuesday’s show below.

Tedeschi Trucks Band – “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin'” – 1/28/20

[Video: edtyre1]

Tedeschi Trucks Band returns to Count Basie Theatre on Wednesday evening for one more night of glorious music, scorchin’ guitar licks, and a full stage of individual talent working together to bring heaven on earth. The second night will be without an opener so Tedeschi Trucks Band should allow two sets tonight.

Listen to the band’s entire performance from Tuesday via the audio player below.

Tedeschi Trucks Band – Count Basie Center for the Arts [Full-Show Audio] – 1/28/20

[Audio: edtyre2]

Scroll down to check out the full gallery from Tuesday’s performance, courtesy of photographer Chris Capaci.

Setlist: Tedeschi Trucks Band | Count Basie Center for the Arts | Red Bank, NJ | 1/28/20

Set: Come See About Me, Don’t Know What It Means, High & Mighty, Hear Me, Why Does Love Got to Be So Sad? (Derek and the Domin0s cover), Life Is Crazy, Joyful Noise, Signs, High Times, Shame, Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Bob Dylan cover), Have You Ever Loved a Woman (Freddie King cover), I Want More

Encore: Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ (The Allman Brothers Band cover), Made Up Mind