The Wood Brothers spent most of the year on the road after recording Ways Not to Lose in 2005. And that time on the road paid huge dividends at this show — The Wood Brothers sound extremely tight throughout this one-hour set.
Bands always tend to feature their showstoppers during festival sets, and this show was no exception. The Wood Brothers’ Newport set featured a nice mix of songs from Ways Not to Lose and several fun covers. Chris and Oliver start off by adding their own spin to a traditional tune called Stealin’, which show off all of the virtues that makes The Wood Brothers stand out from the pack: Oliver’s gritty-but-precise voice, Chris’ melancholy high harmonies, and exquisite instrumental skills by both brothers.
Photo by Vincent Tseng
Oliver and Chris do a nice job of showing off the wide range of their original material throughout the set. Down features Chris singing over a Green Onions-esque riff. Oliver uses the full tone of his acoustic to give Tried and Tempted a gather-’round-the-campfire-for-a-story feel. Chocolate On My Tongue is a feel-good ditty with obtuse lyrics. Each of the Brothers’ originals has an honest sound that isn’t weighed down by extraneous musicians.
The Wood Brothers ended their set with a couple of well-played covers. First up was a jazzy version of the Beatles’ Fixing A Hole that Oliver absolutely nailed vocally. Chris did his part by showing off the chops that has propelled many a groove during a meaty bass solo that dissolved into a dissonant jam. Apparently the boys were stuck in middle seats on the flight to Newport, so they wanted to jam a little bit before they packed up their gear and returned home. Finally, Chevrolet — a song written by the Young Brothers — ended the show on a high note.
As usual, the LiveDownloads recording sounds amazing and allows the listener to pick out all of the nuances that made this performance memorable. The Wood Brothers are currently on the road and will play at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on October 25th and 26th.
- Download The Wood Brothers in Newport from 8/06/2006
- Previously on HT: Live Downloads: Panic In Oakland
The Wood Brothers
August 6th, 2006
Newport Folk Festival
Newport, RI
Set: Stealin’, Tried & Tempted, Luckiest Man, One More Day, Atlas, Chocolate On My Tongue, Where My Baby Might Be, Spirit, Down, Angel Band, Fixin’ A Hole, Chevrolet
2 Responses
Nice review, Scott…I caught the Woods open up for Trey at Roseland in November 2005, and they played a bitchin’ set…it was so bitchin’ that I’m using the word bitchin’, that’s how bitchin’ it was. Fantastic cover of Get Out My Life, Woman that night. Wood Brothers are cool as hell…