Eight hundred fortunate souls filed into The Vogel at Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, NJ on Saturday to witness an intimate performance by members of the Tedeschi Trucks Band in their consolidated Fireside Live configuration.
For the sold-out underplay, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks performed alongside vocalist Mike Mattison, keyboardist Gabe Dixon, drummer Tyler Greenwell, and bassist Brandon Boone. The arrangement was familiar to those who tuned into Derek and Susan’s Fireside Live streams which served as a beacon of light during the COVID pandemic, beaming a distilled batch of the band’s invigorating blues and soul music to homes around the world.
Saturday’s setlist leaned heavily on covers from the opening notes, starting with The Beatles stomper “I’ve Got A Feeling”. The 13-song single-set performance touched on the band’s wide range of influences from The Wood Brothers (“Smoke Ring Halo”) and Bob Dylan (“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”) to Wet Willie (“Keep On Smilin'”) and Sleepy John Estes (“Leaving Trunk”), with Trucks also paying tribute to his Allman Brothers Band heritage on “Stand Back”.
The band didn’t shy away from its catalog of originals either, with “Don’t Let Me Slide”, “Don’t Drift Away”, “Idle Wind”, and “Let Me Get By” all appearing alongside Tedeschi’s solo original “Just Won’t Burn”. Tedeschi, Trucks, and company closed out the show with an incendiary one-song encore of Dr. John‘s “I Walk On Guilded Splinters”, just two days before what would have marked the New Orleans legend’s 82nd birthday.
The timing of Saturday’s underplay further underscored the event’s intimacy, as just two months ago the full Tedeschi Trucks Band made the leap to playing arenas with the two-night Garden Parties. Back in September, TTB made its debut at the TD Garden in Boston and New York’s Madison Square Garden for its first-ever headlining arena shows. Helping the 12-piece ensemble celebrate this latest milestone was a parade of special guests including Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Norah Jones, and more. Derek and Susan didn’t stay away from MSG for long, returning on Friday to sit in with Dave Matthews Band.
Check out some fan-shot videos of the Tedeschi Trucks Fireside Live show at The Vogel in New Jersey on Saturday from Hey Tom Banjo. The full-fledged Tedeschi Trucks Band resurfaces early next year for a three-night spring run at the Beacon Theatre (2/29–3/1). Between now and then, Derek and Susan will also appear at the new Dead Ahead festival in Mexico to sit in with members of the Grateful Dead. For a full tour overview head here.
Tedeschi Trucks Fireside Live – “Don’t Drift Away” – 11/18/23
Setlist: Tedeschi Trucks Band | The Vogel At Count Basie Center For The Arts | Red Bank, NJ | 11/18/23
Set: I’ve Got a Feeling (The Beatles) > Don’t Let Me Slide, Don’t Drift Away, Gin House Blues (Bessie Smith), Smoke Ring Halo (The Wood Brothers), Stand Back (The Allman Brothers Band), Idle Wind [1], Just Won’t Burn, Keep On Smilin’ (Wet Willie), Got My Mo-Jo Working (But It Just Won’t Work on You) (Ann Cole with the Suburbans), Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Bob Dylan), Leaving Trunk (Sleepy John Estes), Let Me Get By
Encore: I Walk on Guilded Splinters (Dr. John)
[1] w/ Sahib Teri Bandi interlude