Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi – Powerstation April 27, 2011

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Some say Derek Trucks is the reincarnation of Duane Allman. He certainly does nothing to dispel that myth. He’s been playing guitar since he was old enough to walk, and has been touring with The Allman Brothers Band, playing Duane’s licks, since he was 12. Since 1997 he has also fronted his own band.

Susan Tedeschi is another huge musical talent that started early. Her bluesy voice falls somewhere between Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt and she’s no slouch on the guitar either. Susan has been fronting her own band since 1994.

Derek and Susan were married in 2001, but it’s only now that they have consummated their musical partnership by forming the Tedeschi-Trucks band. The 11-piece band has only just settled in to their final configuration at the beginning of this year and their first album, Revelator, is due out in June. With only a handful of gigs under their belt, Derek and Susan brought their new band, minus the three horn players, to Auckland for a show at The Powerstation.

When I interviewed Derek a few weeks ago, his enthusiasm for the band and the new record was infectious, and so I had looking forward to this show with high expectations. I received an advance copy of the CD just a day before the show and was impressed, but not blown away. My expectations were lessened a bit by the time the night rolled around.

I needn’t have worried. George Clinton and his P-Funk crew may have brought the funk to the venue a few days earlier, but Tedeschi and Trucks brought soul with them.

The band opened with Bound For Glory, the lead single from the new album. The song’s Memphis-style groove immediately connected with the crowd, with organist Kofi Burbridge laying down some tasty riffs. Trucks’ first solo of the evening was met with expectant whoops from the audience. He began tentatively, but built up to a rousing finish. The song had been extended from its 4 minute studio length to twice that for the stage.

They continued with two more from Revelator including one of the evening’s highlights, the moody Midnight In Harlem. Susan Tedeschi’s vocals were beautiful here and the two backing singers got the opportunity to make their presence felt. But it was Trucks who shone the brightest as he seemed to channel Duane Allman with one of the best slide solos of the night. After a funked-up version of The Meters’ Just Kissed My Baby, he did it again, this time on a gospel-infused version of Derek & The Dominos’ Anyday, a track that Duane had played on with the band that gave Derek Trucks his name.

It was that kind of evening. After a couple more tunes from the new album, both of which sounding much better that their studio versions, They ripped into Jimi Hendrix’s Manic Depression. While that may have seemed like a good idea at the time, honestly, their own tunes were going down better.

A rumour was going around that Mavis Staple was going to join the band at some stage. Sure enough, at the end of the two hour set, Susan mentioned that the first person they saw in their hotel room that day was Mavis. Unfortunately Mavis didn’t appear, but the band played a hastily-rehearsed version of The Weight anyway, in her honour.

After sitting through B.B. King’s less-than-impressive set a few nights earlier, it was good to be able to listen to a guitarist like Trucks at the top of his game. He and Susan make for a dynamic musical coupling. Here’s hoping they come back soon.

Marty Duda

Click here to listen to Midnight In Harlem Live at The Powerstation:

Click here to listen to an interview with Susan and Derek recorded the day of the show:

Click any photo to see a gallery of images from Michael Flynn.

Marty Duda
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