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Photos by Dino Perrucci
Anders Osborne returned to New York for the first time in years, booked to play Tribeca Blues. The last time Anders came to town he played Manny’s Carwash, a venue that has long since closed. Some things are worth the wait. It’s a rare occasion when I follow a band for more than one date on a single tour, but Anders Osborne is definitely an exception to this rule. Each venue proves to inspire a different performance from Anders and his band, New York City proving to be the pinnacle I had been waiting for. On this tour I’ve seen him play a subtle, laid back festival to the inspired Birchmere set which ended with many of the audience members storming the dance floor imitating a scene from the movie "Swingers." But this time, fueled by a crazed New York City audience, Anders pounded out two blistering sets that was in another stratosphere from the previous performances in which I’ve seen him play on this Northeast tour.
Tribeca Blues is a venue, where else, in the heart of Tribeca. With all the businesses suffering below Canal Street lately, I was leery that Anders would see a full house on a Tuesday night. We arrived early at about 7:00 p.m., my friend having to drop off some sort of guest list arranged by a friend of hers. With that mission accomplished we were invited by the bartender/manager to stay and have drinks during the sound check which was an unexpected bonus.
I have been quoted as saying that I would gladly pay to hear Anders just tune his guitar, I didn’t have to pay for this honor. Anders has a unique way of tuning his guitar, it’s not by the dull checking of one string against the next or soundless, right off the tuner. Anders plays tasty slide licks ending with a slight turn of the key at the tail end. If you're not paying attention you might think that he was just playing around but all the while he’s been tuning. Anyway, for a good half an hour we were witness to the soundman working with Doug Belote, trying to get the perfect mix for his drums, Kirk Joseph carefully balancing the notes of his sousaphone against the brick walls of Tribeca. Tim Green seemed to need only a small amount of time to set up, looking very comfortable that he would be able to adjust the sound of his saxophone on the fly. After a couple of short jams which would abruptly stop when the sound board operator gave the thumbs up, everyone seemed satisfied and the band retired to the green room to wait for the start of the show.
My fears that New York had forgotten about Anders were allayed as the thin, darkly lit room of Tribeca Blues slowly filled. Talking to people in the room, I was psyched to find this crowd was here to see Anders. Previous shows of the tour found crowds not completely familiar with the Anders experience. Although the room started cool, the excitement in the room began to rise along with the temperature as people found spots standing from the front by stage to the far back by the bar. At about 9:30 the band came onto the stage with a huge cheer from the crowd. It was not packed, but still, it was crowded and hot, I was starting to sweat already. There was just enough room for everyone to have a small space to call their own. The band didn’t have to wait for the music to come together. Launching right into a fantastic groove, the band was in perfect complement from the first note. Everyone in the club began to move to the beat, the people in front being the most energetic. Anders mentioned to the crowd about the heat and how they were with us every step of the way, everyone was boiling, but so was the music. As I looked back from where I was standing, in front of the stage, the entire crowd was moving as if they where head up in a rough sea at the beginning of a storm. Each song built upon the next and there wasn’t one song that slowed down the pace. Even the slower, less furious numbers were played with an intensity that even the most highly energetic jam band would have trouble creating. The end of the first set found the band drenched and everyone still reeling from the music.
For the second set, Tribeca lost about half the audience. Partly because it was Tuesday night after 11:00 p.m. but mostly because the air conditioning at Tribeca Blues was apparently not effective during this heat wave we were experiencing. The rest of the crowd were diehards though and were not going to leave until the band had exhausted every note. Anders reemerged with a fresh shirt and pulled the band to the next level. The extra room in the club just meant that people could dance more freely driving the band off the planet with the finest set I have seen this year. The band played for an unusual 80 minutes, a huge set considering the effort that Kirk needs the exert, pushing uncountable notes from the huge brass monster that surrounds him. Also, the effort and concentration the band needs to follow Anders and his changing moods is mind boggling.
Anders thanked the crowd, took off his guitar, then put it directly back on knowing that this crowd would not allow anything else. There was no need to go through the motions of leaving the stage and waiting for the apparent chant to start. It was way to hot for that. Pushed by Kirk, loving the New York City vibe, the band did three more numbers for another 20 unbelievable minutes. The band, drenched again, along with the crowd who were enlightened and exhausted and left to float back down to earth.
I’ve seen Anders in many forms but right now he is at the top of his game. I don’t know what will happen when word spreads and this roots rock, slide guitar master brings things to a grander scale. Maybe Anders will discover a new solar system.
Daniel Newman
JamBase | NYC
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