Written by: Zen Wild

Photography by: Tony Vasquez of Vasquez Photography

Photo Galleries: The Wood Brothers | Chris Kasper

It’s been a couple of months since we’ve been to the Vogue, but it’s September 30^th tonight and we’re here to see The Wood Brothers, with Chris Kasper opening (along with the beautiful Kiley Ryan on violin). It’s going to be an amazing show. I already know it. Half an hour before the music is supposed to start, the place is already getting packed. It looks like it did when I was here to see G. Love, Dr. Dog, and Gary Clark, Jr. If you want to be up front, you better get near that rail now, because it won’t be so easy to get there later. We settle in near the left side of the stage, a couple feet away. A record player upon the stage is playing some music while we wait, and the stack of vinyl lying below has a Little Walter record in front. I’m hoping that in the time we have left to wait we’ll get to hear it. Time will tell that wishes do occasionally come true, as later, Chris Wood will come out and pop the record on for a few songs before The Wood Brothers start their set. I love the blues. Now, back to the present where everything’s about to start.

Chris Kasper comes out and kicks things off, playing one by himself, before being joined by Kiley Ryan. It sounds great, and once Kiley hits that stage, it sounds even better. I love the sound of a fiddle/violin. It’s absolutely one of my favorite instruments. Coming all the way from Philly, they’re not here just to pass on through, they’re here to let you know about it. Anything that’s steeped in folk, country, bluegrass, or blues, I’m probably going to love, especially if it’s done right. They do it right. Stripped-down affairs such as this, similar to something like The Civil Wars, are just beautiful to behold. Two instruments, two voices, one big, big sound.

The third song they play is “Never Saw You Blues,” and I think it’s amazing. Like I said before, I love the blues. Chris explains, before playing the song, that it’s about one of those instances where you go to a party and see an ex-girlfriend with a friend of yours, and then you pretend like you didn’t see a thing. Who hasn’t been there? They burn that song right down to the ground. “Bask In the Light” follows and after that, “Meet Me Down the Road In a Few,” which, Chris lets us know, is about meeting someone who’s almost cool, but not quite there yet, and so he says, “meet me down the road in a few.” It’s a good tune. Following up, Kasper plays a sing-along, to which everyone sings along, and he compliments a man who trumpets like an elephant before everything begins. They close the set with three more songs, including “Mr. Charlie” and “Oh, Caroline,” before Chris finally thanks the audience and tells everyone to “enjoy the Wood Brothers.” That last statement is undoubtedly a given, but as Chris and Kiley leave the stage, there’s no doubt that the set they blessed us with was absolutely scintillating. Before I leave, I know that I’m grabbing one of their cds.

After Little Walter plays for a bit on that record player, when The Wood Brothers make their entrance, it doesn’t take long for them to suck a person in. Their songs pull you in like the sweet words of a long-lost love. The crowd erupts when they hit the stage, and the band opens with “Neon Tombstone,” off their newest album. I’m dancing from the moment everything starts, and I’m not the only one. It would be much harder to find someone who’s not dancing than someone who is. Right after, the group follows up with “Wasting My Mind,” also from that newest album, and “Blue and Green.” I love it all, and when for the next song, “Keep Me Around,” Chris Wood straps on a harmonica rack while still playing double bass, I’m grinning from ear to ear. That’s one of my favorite tracks from that new album. “The Muse” is next, the title track from that album, and the delivery is brilliant. Without even telling you, I’m sure you already know that I love that one, too.

Now, I could relate to you every song that The Wood Brothers play throughout the night, but I’m not going to. Needless to say, the set is amazing. The harmonized vocals are so good, as well as the percussion, guitar, and you know Chris Wood can play that bass. That’s one of the reasons that Medeski, Martin, and Wood have always been so good: Chris Wood.

At one point, the band has Chris Kasper and Kiley Ryan join them on stage, asking the crowd to quiet down, huddling around a single, sensitive mic, so that they can play to us softly and sweetly. They even cover Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels,” to which the crowd goes nuts. You know that Hoosiers love Tom Petty. That’s a given, but tonight, at the Vogue, there are a lot of Hoosiers who’ve loved everything that The Wood Brothers, Chris Kasper (and Kiley Ryan) have played. It’s hard not to. I mean, you’d really have to work at it to not love this music. I just hope that both groups are coming to your town soon, so you can love them in person, too.