Jason Isbell’s New Year’s Eve livestream from Brooklyn Bowl Nashville succinctly summed up what musicians and music lovers missed out on in 2020. Here was an artist in the prime of his career, performing material from an excellent album he and his band can’t tour on, at a pristine new venue that can’t hold in-person shows.
The Alabama-born, Nashville-residing Isbell and his fiddle-wielding wife, bandmate and fellow singer-songwriter Amanda Shires have streamed from this stage before. In May, they commemorated the release of Reunions — Isbell’s sixth LP with his band The 400 Unit, which ranked second in the Scene’s Top Local Albums Critics’ Poll — with an unplugged two-piece set from the 1,200-capacity Germantown bowling alley and venue. A few months later, Isbell, Shires and the rest of the band (keyboardist Derry DeBorja, drummer Chad Gamble, bassist Jimbo Hart and guitarist Sadler Vaden) finally got to debut the new tunes in front of a live audience. They handily sold out a four-night test run of socially distanced concerts at The Caverns in Pelham, Tenn. The experience, Isbell told the crowd during the fourth and final show, “felt like Christmas.”
From his perceptive, cogent lyrics to his just-as-pithy tweets and stage patter, Isbell is a master at reading the room. That's a little harder when you're onstage in an empty, cavernous club, playing to invisible fans. But the even-keeled songsmith, who turns 42 next month, took the less-than-ideal circumstances in stride.
“Happy to be joining you virtually, in sound and in spirit,” Isbell announced before the band kicked things off with “Overseas,” a melancholic rocker from Reunions. “I can’t think of a single New Year’s Eve I have anticipated with the ferocity of joy that I’ve anticipated this one.”
While not a marathon gig — no deep cuts or extended jams — the 17-song performance was loose and unselfconscious. Viewers were treated to soaring versions of fan faves like the rowdy “Super 8” and wistful “24 Frames,” as well as a show-stopping “Cover Me Up,” which has become the Shoals native’s signature tune. A crystal-clear mix spotlighted Shires’ violin countermelodies, which served songs like the title number from 2015's Something More Than Free faithfully while raising the emotional stakes considerably.
At times it felt like eavesdropping on a band rehearsal, with good-naturedly sarcastic running commentary on the Groundhog Day-like drudgery of the past nine-and-a-half months. “This year has been a grueling tour,” said Isbell, pausing a beat, “of my home.” Later, he pondered updating the lyrics to the soulful “Traveling Alone” to reflect current events: “Halfway through that song, I thought to myself, ‘Yeah, right.’ Traveling at all would be great. ‘I’m tired of not traveling at all’ — how about that?”
Jokes aside, the time away from the road hasn’t made the band rusty. The Reunions material sounded lively and colorful Thursday. The standouts: “Be Afraid,” a fiery call-to-arms for artists to use their platforms to speak their truth, and “What’ve I Done to Help,” a stirring six-minute meditation on privilege and slacktivism. Both are peak Isbell, proof of his uncanny ability to use timeless sounds to explore timely subjects.
There’s hope that live music, a major driver of the music economy, will be able to recover in 2021. Count the last-minute pandemic stimulus bill passed in December, which includes federal aid for independent venues, as one blessing among many. Isbell & Co.’s NYE performance offered yet another reminder of just how much that hoped-for recovery will mean for fans, too.
