I have been listening to Steve Earle for many years ever since my good friend from Nashville Michael Ross introduced me to “Guitar Town”. Steve is a great lyricist and writes terrific songs that have been covered by numerous artists. Along with Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, John Hiatt and a few select others Steve is one of the few artists that I will always seek out to see live and will always buy their latest album. I was lucky enough to meet Steve in Matt Umanov Guitars in New York a few years back and he was as fascinating to meet in person as he was to see live, full of creative expression and animation.
st night I caught him live in Manchester UK and he was on top form playing his latest blues based album. Although I have seen Steve many times as a solo artist on balance I love seeing him with a band and of course he always picks great musicians! The set covered a lot of material from the latest album as well as many old favourites. Like all great songwriters Steve has a huge catalogue of songs and knows how to create a really well paced set. Since writing for The Small Change Diaries I look at live performances and albums in a new way, thinking “Would I be happy with that” With some expectations I find a lot of music and live performances “ok” but not great. It’s therefore great to know that artists like Steve are consistently great and always great entertainment. Steve played for over two hours and covered a wide range of styles playing a series of electric and acoustic instruments as well as blues harp.
I’m a big fan of great melodies and smart thought provoking lyrics and tonight’s set has this in spades. If you get a chance to see him with this band I highly recommend checking out this tour.