After a two-year delay, The Wheels of Soul tour finally rolled into Artpark this past Tuesday night. The tour features the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Los Lobos and the opener Gabe Dixon. The Tedeschi Trucks Band are very familiar with this stage gracing it for the 2nd time in just 4 years time.
Opening the set was the TTB’s keyboardist in Gabe Dixon. Dixon was a great choice to have as an opener. His piano driven music was just the right appetizer for the rest of the nights upcoming dishes. Some of his highlights were “Lay it on Me” and “All Will be Well.” His drummer even played the drums using a tambourine stick.
Next up was the legendary Los Lobos. I’ve never seen the band and was looking forward to their set. I didn’t know what to expect. It was a lot more laid back than I was expecting. Their hour set was very mundane at best. It only came alive when Susan Tedeschi joined them for “Someday.” Derek Trucks kept the good vibes going when he joined them for the Allman Brothers cover of “Don’t Keep Me Wonderin” and the Grateful Dead classic “Bertha.” Now after “Bertha,” the audience were ready for the TTB to take the stage.
You would be hard pressed to find a tighter band than the TTB Band. I’ve seen them enough over the last several years to know. This 12-piece band covers all the bases. This year is going to be a big endeavor for the band. They are releasing 4 new studio albums that will total 24 new tracks. This started in June with the titles all starting with ‘I Am the Moon: Episode I. Crescent.’
Going into the “Anyhow” off the 2016 album ‘Let Me Get By,’ was the appropriate choice to get the audience juices flowing. The soulful voice of Tedeschi was on display for “Made Up Mind.” In fact, her voice got stronger and more soulful as the evening progressed. Her guitar playing truly compliments off Derek Trucks.’ Trucks is one of the most masterful blues players out there. Slide guitar playing with occasional fingerpicking truly makes Trucks playing unique on his own. The band covered all the tunes off of ‘I Am the Moon: I Crescent Moon’ and a few tracks of ‘I Am the Moon: II Ascension.’ Trucks’ playing on all of the tracks was out of this world, especially on one of the new songs called “Pasaquan.” It was just simply jaw dropping. The dynamic of the band that also includes Gabe Dixon on keyboards and piano, Tyler Greenwell and Issac Eady on drums and percussion, Ephraim Owens on trumpet, Elizabeth Lea on Trombone, Kebbi Williams on Saxophone, Brandon Boone on bass guitar, Mark Rivers, Alecia Chakour and Mike Mattison all on harmony vocals.
Due to time constraints, they were unable to play the scheduled encores. You should know that when you’re at a TTB show, that level of unpredictability is always on the table. That level of uncertainty also can contribute to a great show. They keep continuing to outdo themselves and this show was no exception.
Setlist:
Anyhow
Made Up Mind
Fall In
I Am the Moon
Shame
Midnight in Harlem
Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad? (Derek and the Dominos cover)
Hear my Dear
Outside Woman Blues (Blind Joe Reynolds cover)
La Di Da
Circles ‘Round The Sun
Pasaquan
That Did It (Bobby “Blue” Bland cover)
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free (Billy Taylor cover)
Editors note: BackstageAxxess declined to photograph the performance of Los Lobos because of usage or approval conditions set forth by the band.
We would like to thank Jordan Oscar from Artpark for the credentials to review the show.
