Son Volt

My 5th time seeing Son Volt and this one was my favorite so far. They're just a well oiled machine. The atmosphere and set list was fantastic. The stage @ the backyard should be raised a few feet imo. All in all a night that I won't forget.

Jam packed. Only neg is,that they went on at 10PM and not 9PM as thought. Wanted to hear more but shut down at 11:30. Hence start earlier next time.

Son Volt was fantastic...but the Backyard Stage needs to be raised up several feet as you can't see the drummer or keyboard player...The band though was great!!!

I saw Son Volt a few years ago and liked them a lot. Not this time. This concert's set list was almost purposely monotonous. Farrar's songs don't have a wide dynamic range to begin with and yet he chose a long line of new songs with similar tempo and feel. Mix it up. The new songs are good but to stand on their own need some dynamic variety. It became relentlessly boring. Too bad.

This band is tight! It's too bad that they're not promoted as much as they deserve. The band played a strong show. Jay doesn't appear to age. Good mix of new music (Dynamite & Down to the Wire) with classics (Bandages and Scars, Hwy 61, Windfall). They skipped playing Drown on this night, but it was ok since extended version of Afterglow Highway 61 made up for it.

I attended the Son Volt concert at the Vic Theater in Chicago last night. I've been listening to their music for years as well as Uncle Tupelo and Jay Farrar's solo efforts. They played all of the material from their new CD which is absolutely fantastic. They then went into an electric set of older material. This band is at the top of their game and I'm glad they're back. You cannot go wrong if you see them live. If you cannot, you should buy their CD. I'm a big Wilco fan too. Son Volt is Wilco's complementary opposite! I'm rooting for an Uncle Tupelo reunion!

Jay and the guys were on fire last night. Been a fan for years, and this was the best performance by far.

Our night started on the wrong foot, while driving from Ann Arbor we noticed that our printed tickets were left back in the apartment. Luckily the kind people at the Majestic located our names on the ticket holders list and let us in. Sera Cohoone opened the evening with a beautiful voice and a good folk-country atmosphere. Son Volt went on stage only at 9:30pm, approx two hours after the doors opened. At that time the crowd seemed well intoxicated and ready for some good time. And that's exactly what they got, Son Volt brought their southern feel to the motor-city and grooved the Majestic with new material from American Central Dust and some old favorites like Bandages & Scars and Afterglow 61. To sum up, Jay Farrar and the gang gave an excellent performance, and a night to remember.

Sera Cahoone was a great opening act. Son Volt was really good (as expected) although the sound man could have backed off on the bass just a bit. Love the Variety as a venue, and the people watching was especially fun for this show.

Very nice show. Fast paced, lot of variety and nice crowd. Excellent venue. Love the Five Points neighborhood.

I saw them in Newport the night before so I know they cut their set list and the tempos were a little slower, but Son Volt is always worth the trip and money. Jay is the voice and the songmaster.

Jay Farrar and crew never cease to amaze me live. The band played a majority of Son Volt's newest record Notes of Blue, as well as favorites and deep cuts alike from prior releases.

Seen Son Volt several times, and Jay Farrar when he went solo. He is a man of few words, VERY few words when they are spoken, but when it comes to singing, he remains one of the most talented singer songwriters of our time, or anyone's time for that matter. The band was incredible and they played straight through (no time for chit chat with Jay),including songs from most of their albums (minus Honky Tonk I think) and playing multiple encores. The sound was great, the crowd was revved, the staff at the Paradise were very nice - awesome night.

Saw Son Volt at The Pageant and had a great time. Venue was nice and the Delmar area is a great place to visit.

They covered a lot from their new album which I love! They played all my favorites and came back for encores! I would highly recommend seeing them when they come to your city.

Amazing show! All I need now is the complete set list.

He was fantastic. A very nice man. Highly recommend seeing all of them!

This was an excellent concert. It was great to see Jay Farrar back in his old stomping grounds of St. Louis. The concert began with several selections off the new album "Notes of Blue". I wasn't familiar with the new material as I hadn't heard anything from it before. But it was a great way to begin the show. The music/songs have a harder edge than songs of the past which are heavily influenced by country, folk and rock. I bought the new cd at the show and it ROCKS! Of course the audience (me included) wanted to hear the old classics and Son Volt did not disappoint. Too many to mention them all, but a few that really stood out for me were Tear Stained Eye, Ten Second News, and my favorite....Wind Fall which was one of six encore songs. With Chuck Berry passing away earlier in the day, I had a hunch that Son Volt would play something in tribute and they did just that during the encore. After a few words from Jay Farrar they launched into "Around And Around". A Chuck Berry gem. It was perfect. In summary, Son Volt was fantastic. Hearing Jay Farrar's familiar lead vocals on the old and new songs was like the joyful feeling you get when you bump into an old friend you haven't seen in years. Come to think of it, that's exactly what it was!!!

Excellent combination of new and old tunes. Toe tappin rock and alt country. Poor opening act.

It was great to see Son Volt. They treated the audience to a selection of their work with some representation for each of the albums. The heaviest concentrations came from the new album and Trace. The latter got the crowd on its feet. I like the new album so it was good to hear that. And nothing beats Trace. For the end of the concert, there were a few songs from the Uncle Tupelo days. it was great to see Jeff Farrar, He did not interact much, if at all with the audience. The band was very tight. One problem: the mix of the music and vocals was awful. You could not make out the words to the songs. I know them all and I had trouble. My friends could not make them out.

Very good performance for an intimate setting. Able to sit and enjoy the entire show.

Colonel Ford opened with some classic C&W and awesome Telecaster guitar playing. Then they turned out to be Son Volt behind Jay Farrar. Mark Spencer, the Tele whiz, became a pedal steel whiz and the band sounded great on the latest Son Volt honky tonk material. They could also blast on the older stuff. Jay's voice was in good form and the new songs are every bit the equal of the stuff from Trace and Straightaways. Good long show.

Excellent show. Excellent venue. Any time you have a chance to see Son Volt, go!

The band was its own warm up act and are really talented guitar players. They did a mix of country. Then Farrar joined them for his own signature sound, more soulful and resonant. Reminds me of Ryan Adams and Whiskeytown. The Fillmore is a great venue. Great evening.

Fantastic, but the set list was slightly skewed to newer material.

I was very happy to have taken the trip from Connecticut to see Son Volt at the Bowery Ballroom. As an extra treat, Mark Spencer warmed up the crowd with a Waylon Jennings' cover, "That's What You Get for Loving Me". Jay Farrar's voice is beautiful and hauntiing. The venue was perfect, very intimate with great acoustics. These tickets cost us $20 and we got more than our moneys worth with this band and this venue. The drinks were not as pricey as I thought they would be....same or less than Connecticut venues Loved it!!!

Son Volt was excellent. What talented musicians, and Jay Farrar's vocals and lyrics are rare examples of pure talent. Also the Bowery Ballroom is a great venue. $22.50 was a bargain.

Son volt sounded great but they didnt play nearly long enough. I was expecting about a 2 hr show and they only played for about an hour and 20 minutes. There are plenty of great songstsongsthat didnt get played. When they walked off the stage and the house lights cameon most of the audience was unpleasantly surprised at the seemingly abbreviated show.

This was my first time to attend a concert by Son Volt, and was very impressed , My husband and I were very impressed by the drummer, he seemed to give it all he possible could and is very talented, hope to see him more.

Son Volt brought it, along with Colonel Ford, the opening band. Great crowd, very mixed in ages. Lots of cowboy hats. While the whole night was magic, the place really lit up when Son Volt began to play some of their earlier songs with more of a rock edge. The songs from Honky Tonk , their newest release, are wonderful, just with more of a" low-key energy. I see Jay Farrar as a true poet. He writes substantial lyrics that are both prophetic and plaintive. I was there with my college-age son. When they began playing the earlier stuff from The Trace, he came alive, saying, "Now I get it!" It was a great night and an even greater concert!

Farrar and Son Volt played to a large, mildly energetic crowd in support of his new cd, "Honky Tonk". The band sounded tight, in rhythm, and Farrar's voice was as good as it has been in many years. Problem was the show was too short. 80 minutes is not enough. Not sure why it was short, but I expect at least 2 hours, especially considering he's playing in his hometown. The encore was the highlight, and included "Windfall" and "Tear Stained Eye". A finish with "Live Free" or a Neil Young or Uncle Tupelo song would have made the show better.

Venue was great. Sound was fantastic. Band was terrific. The only thing lacking was more people.

Having seen the band before I drove a couple hundred miles to see them again. I wouldn't say I was disappointed but thrilled I wasn't. The ever changing line up of players doesn't help either. The sound was boomy and lacked clarity, could have been the venue. Jay's non report with the audience seemed to express a dullness to the eve.

Son Volt was very cool. They are so experienced and know how to put on a show. Musicians were very good all around. The drummer had so much finesse and their dynamics to go soft to loud were great because of that. They played mostly stuff from the last 2 CD's, only a sprinkling of the old stuff at that end as crowd pleasers and I could tell that some of the old tracks that they had crafted a powerful climatic swells were really cool. I was impressed how the slide gutarist/organ/piano player filled in the gaps of other alternate instrumentation that was on the CD's (violens and such). The boys had a great time. We went to IHOP for pancakes when we weren't ready to turn in yet to talk about the show.

Jay and cast have been one of my favorite bands since Uncle Tupelos split. but I could never really get into Jeff' Tweedy (although he is a very nice guy) and Wilco's direction... so I have been a Son Volt devotee since the first LP. Son Volt had never disappointed until Friday night. They played their new stuff close to the cuff, but, they seemed to rush through all of the rest of the songs that I love and went to show to hear. The new album is a 3-4 star but I went to the show to hear the Son Volt classics and to watch Beatle Bob dance. I am quite certain that they are tired of playing the older songs but people go to live performances to hear the songs they know and love not to hear experimental or rushed versions. The show started sounding like one long song after they stopped playing their newst stuff. On a positive note, Bob did not disappoint... he is as "rockin" as always. I will give Son Volt another try next time they come to town but if it is anything like Friday nights show I will be done with their live performances... "May the Wind Take Your Troubles Away"... Jay Farrar

This is a great venue for a band like Son Volt; intimate yet big enough to handle the big sound. These are consistant, inspiring musicians who play heartfelt music. Frontman Jay even loosened up a bit with a little audience bantor. He should do more of it. Great time.

Once again a great show was profoundly weakened by the terrible sound system at the Pagent. Can't you get them to do something about that?

Seemed like the show lacked energy, even for Son Volt. Jay just doesn't connect with an audience. That's to be expected. Usually, the music makes up for it. There was no enthusiasm for the new stuff and the favorites seemed "ho-hum". Great music, but nothing I couldn't have gotten from listening to the album.

Jay Farrar and his band are certainly great musicians and Jay writes some great songs. Whether it was weeping steel guitar driven ballads or cowpunk rages, the group showed great skill on their instruments, including Jay's melancholy vocals. My only complaint was that he never really tried to connect with the St. Louis audience and didn't really allow us to energize them until the end with a semi-psychyedelic rocker. My wife (who is not a big fan anyway) said that the songs seemed to all end very abruptly. I noticed on an early song that just as he was starting to rock, he ended it. Where Neil Young would have just started to burn, Son Volt faded away. But an overall enjoyable concert.

I love Son Volt, loved Uncle Tupelo (the first band which was comprised of both Jay Ferrar of Son Volt and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco) and, I like Wilco. I've been listening to them all for over a decade. I prefer Jay Ferrar/Son Volt over Jeff Tweedy/Wilco though, and although he's a bit monotone, (well, they both are), Jay's got my heart in a way Jeff never will. It's the feeling, his emotion, and the country sounding roots I guess. Strange considering I really don't like country. Anyway, I have about 50 favorite SV songs. I heard 1 at this show (Bandages and Scars), and only 2 others I even recognized. I think I have about 100 songs on my iPod of SV, so that's saying a lot that I only recognized three. To their credit, they have what I believe to be 2 new releases coming up (don't know how/why 2) but perhaps that's where all the new music came form (if that's what it was). I don't see how it could have been old music because I have everything else already, and the new music wasn't bad, but it was the first time I heard it, it was all quite slow (I love most of their upbeat songs better than the slower ones), and, my expectation was to hear SV JAM like they do so well with their recognizable favorites for which they're known so well. To my dismay, that didn't happen... And guess what? They played for over 2 hours, non-stop, and probably did about 35 songs! That's a LOT. I feel bad for saying this, but I grew quite bored with the show and wanted to leave after about an hour 15... It doesn't mean they're not an incredible band, or that I won't love their new music (albeit slower) as much as the old, but it does mean if you're expecting to go to a show to hear more than 2 of your old-time favorites, it ain't gonna happen. I'm not saying EVERYTHING has to be the classics, but mix it up. 1 old, 2 new, or 1 old, 3 new. Even that would have allowed for 12 oldies in there with 20 or so new ones. I'll buy their 2 new albums, listen up, and go back next year again and I'm sure I'll love it. They just came at a bad time for me having so much new music that's ABOUT to be released (maybe 1 was released already unbeknownst to me), and me wanting to hear a lot of their classics. Their following seems to be dwindling a bit considering I heard they only sold 500 tickets for the Chicago Vic Theater show on 9-25-09, the show I was at. They didn't even open the balcony! Support them as much as you can to keep them around. They're a unique, talented, emotional, and historic band maintaining the qualities that you don't come by much in music these days...

Son Volt gave the crowd more than their monies worth, with change to sapare.They covered their lastest album and a lot of their familliar tunes.I wish they would do more Uncle Tupelo songs.One of the longest encores in concert history!