Do you know what makes Music City so great? Well, I couldn’t tell you for sure until last week. That’s right ladies and gentlemen — we finally got Fat Tire in the great state of Tennessee! And on Thursday of last week I enjoyed said beverage while watching one of my favorite acts on tour today — Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit. The performance was stellar. The show kicked off with Sway and then quickly moved into one of my favorite tracks on Sirens of the Ditch — Chicago Promenade. “If I die now before I’m old my story will be less than told” are some of the simplest words, yet so meaningful — it gets me everytime.

[All photos by Jennifer Kirk]

The majority of the set was from Sirens of the Ditch. Eventually came Psycho Killer and I don’t know about you, but I love when bands cover the Talking Heads in any way, shape or form. It got the Mercy Lounge dancing that’s for sure. One of the highlights of the evening was a performance of It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue with Isbell on acoustic. Shortly after that Dress Blues was played and the performance left me with goose bumps. No, I’m serious. The song is a great story-telling piece and inspired me so much that I wrote a piece abou a couple of months ago. Overall, the show was a great one and I can’t wait to see Isbell the next time he’s in Music City — who knows maybe I’ll buy him a Fat Tire, or two.

READ ON for more pictures of Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit in Nashville…

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
Mercy Lounge
Nashville, TN
Thursday, June 26, 2008

Setlist:

Sway
Chicago Promenade
Trouble
Grown
Goddamn Lonely Love
Never Gonna Change
Hurricanes and Hand Grenades
Danko/Manuel
Psycho Killer
Decoration Day
In A Razor Town
Into The Mystic
[quick set break]
It’s All Over Now Baby Blue
The Magician
Dress Blues
Outfit
Try (w/No Quarter and Third Stone From the Sun teases)