#avondalebrewing

Who: Anders Osborne Where: Avondale Brewing When: August 14, 2014

On an unseasonably pleasant August night, New Orleans resident Anders Osborne visited Avondale's backyard, bringing the bayou to Birmingham. Prior to the show my only experience with Anders was an NPR piece and the amazing Southern Soul Assembly tour. His performance there warranted a return visit whenever he came back through.

Anders' music is very hard to label, his live cuts are very jam-band like, often exceeding 15 minutes. His lyrics are songwriter quality sung over blues, southern rock (think Allman Brothers) with healthy doses of West Indian, occasionally all within the same song. The 4 piece wasted no time and launched right into their set and didn't take their foot off the gas for a solid 2 hours. I must admit, there were a couple occasions where the songs droned in that "repeat the riff 30 times" jam that always loses me. I don't mind long songs; I just want them to progress. However those few times didn't damper my new affection for Anders or even those particular songs. Anders is known as a guitar virtuoso and last night was no different, however my biggest takeaways were the gritty lyrics and watching him struggle with his inner demons on stage right before my eyes, something I experienced the first time I watched him perform and couldn't stop thinking about for days. He is truly an artist that uses his gift to deal with his own personal struggles, what ever they may be. On a lighter note, the band members obviously enjoyed playing together and are seasoned road warriors. Bassist, Carl Dufresne interacted with the crowd and prowled the stage while laying down the groove. Drummer Tony Leone had the unenviable task of holding those 18-minute jams together and never slipped once. Perhaps the star of the show, next to Anders, was John Gros on the keys and piano. The crowd loved his personality and those funky 70s riffs he was throwing out. He kept the crowd moving.

Setlist: