Giving Up the Ghost is Jackie Greene’s best album to date—the fullest expression of his folksy songwriting and country blues dexterity. But his songs have never been over-reliant on heavy metaphor or confusing wordplay. Ball and Chain, Gone Wonderin’, When You’re Walkin’ Away, Rusty Nail—these are songs to enjoy, shake your ass and drink to as much as they’re poetic.
His band is similarly unfettered: a collection of seasoned musicians with a few good guitar licks and a great bar band’s sense of pacing and slow one/fast one balance. The band kicked up a nice little fuss on the main stage just now, using charm to overcome a shaky sound mix—too much bass, too little lead guitar—and giving up requisite Dead (New Speedway Boogie, briefly, and Sugaree, fully) throughout. Donna Jean sang harmony on Sugaree—I might have been a little too hasty proclaiming Jen Durkin the most ubiquitous performer of the weekend—and we got Jackie’s Ryan Adams-ish Gone Wandering again, a less groovy, more boogie-hewing version than the one Phil & Friends played last night.
Speaking of Phil & Friends, John Molo’s been making the rounds, saying hello to friends and strangers alike near the main stage and in the tents, extolling Jackie’s virtues and pressing the flesh. It’s always nice to see artists who don’t scurry off into the backstage area or jump in their cars the second their sets are over.
