Dan Auerbach with Shannon and the Clams
at Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater, February 23, 2018
Review by Stacey Lovett and Photography by Jim Chapin
Fans flooded Stubbs’ Waller Creek Amphitheater for Black Keys vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Revue, but those prepared to hear the heavy blues-rock sound of the Keys – or even tracks from his debut solo album Keep It Hid – got a bit of a surprise with his newfound lighter Nashville-influenced sound infiltrated the set. The response to Waiting on a Song’s more country-folk-pop tones was positive and the audience still received a good dose of the blues throughout.
Oakland, California’s Shannon and the Clams opened up the night roaring through a set of songs with a sound best described as dreamy doo-wop island sockhop, perhaps with a few more generic twists added in if one could even keep count of any sort of true classification. This melting pot of sound – produced by Dan Auerbach himself under Easy Eye – culminated beautifully into an entertaining performance continuously switching lead vocals between the equally eclectic bassist and guitarist in a cross-genre exploration led by their new label.
Dan Auerbach’s set featured his latest album Waiting on a Song in its entirety – less the final track “Show Me” – and opened with the title track co-written by John Prine (one of a handful of heavy-hitting collabs on the album.) “Malibu Man” brought more mellowed out vocals and sound than previous Auerbach tunes but the same soul remained a foundation throughout the entire work. The whole band had a cohesiveness feeding off each other’s energy in harmony – a carefully produced union from the artist so sought after by other artists in his own production abilities resulting from his success in The Black Keys.
The night was just as much as a revue of Auerbach’s multi-faceted talents across music as it was the individual acts showcased throughout the night. The performance of “Cherrybomb” brought more of the familiar thick sound and ominous chords synonymous with Dan Auerbach getting the crowd excited with a short, yet heavy instrumental jam before moving into a new song not yet on any record – “Pull Me Under Love.” Still a lighter, bluesy-soul number but heavier than his first few of the night, and showcasing more guitar tearing it up in a solo on stage to the crowd’s delight. “Never in my Wildest Dreams” opened with haunting gospel croons into a sweet Nashvillian soul-twang tune of adoration followed by a more familiar sound and aqueous reverb in “King of a One Horse Town.”
Blues-soul singer/songwriter/guitarist Robert Finley joined Dan Auerbach on stage for the middle part of the show (though the latter of his repertoire was not showcased that night.) Recently signed to the Easy Eye Sound label for his second full-length studio album, Goin’ Platinum, he teamed up on stage with the producer & co-writer for a handful of songs off of the recording, livening up the fans even more with some Louisiana-bred soul. “I want to apologize to you folks for rocking your world but I can’t help it!” he cracked to the crowd following a full falsetto performance of “Holy Wine” moving into a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Like It This Way” further soaking up the spotlight before he made his exit.
Auerbach rocked the audience with another Mac cover of “Albatross” reverberating a thick bass line moving into a thicker, trippy instrumental groove. He showcased a few more new songs weaving through newer folkier gospel sounds but still throwing in some of the classic soul jam guitar licks into the set that his longtime fans will always admire. Dan Auerbach seems to take on a different persona with each sound, mirroring the vibe of the tune, yet always visibly getting into the more soul heavy songs. His JJ Cale cover showcased some solid guitar as well as a rousing reaction from his fans continuing into a sing-along of his latest single, “Shine on Me.”
Robert Finley joined him back on stage for the encore with his gospel performance of “All My Hope” and duet of “Get It While You Can” before Dan Auerbach took center stage for his acoustic solo of “Goin’ Home” as the crowd listened in silent reverence before erupting into cheers and applause upon his finish.
While this tour presented a lighter Nashville-influenced sound than previous releases, Dan Auerbach did present a true revue of everything he lends to music across the board and proves to be continuously influential to a strong band of creatives equally as lending to the craft. As an artist’s artist, Auerbach showed this Song was in holding for some time, nodding to nostalgia in more ways than one, and the time was finally right to debut this novel revival.
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DAN AUERBACH PHOTO GALLERY
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DAN AUERBACH SETLIST: Waiting on a Song, Malibu Man, Living in Sin, Cherry Bomb, Pull Me Under Love, Never in My Wildest Dreams, King of a One Horse Town, Medicine Woman, Three Jumpers, Holy Wine, Like it This Way, Albatross, Trouble Waits for You, Sensuous Woman, Stand by my Girl, Trouble Weighs a Ton, Undertow, Don’t Go to Strangers, Shine On Me, Mendocino ENCORE: All My Hope, Get It While You Can, Goin’ Home
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