With his back to First Avenue (his familiar haunt), Steve Earle mentioned how it was odd to be in a room where everyone was sitting. Well, his performance was more suitably melancholy than revolutionary. It was essentially a solo performance, though opening act Allison Moorer joined on vocals on a few songs, and a DJ added beats and rhythm on several numbers.

Overall, Earle’s oddly paced, 2-hour performance seemed to be a testament to his songwriting, not his singing, skills. Among the standouts he performed were ” Can”t Remember If We Said Goodbye” and the story-song ”Billy Austin.” The vocal highlights were “Jerusalem” and “Little Rock ‘n’ Roller,” which was introduced with a long and winding but poignant story about missing his kids birthdays (because he was on tour) and coping with the death of his father. Earle’s tribute to Pete Seeger, “Steve’s Hammer,” provided some political and emotional resonance. But, his concerts usually have many more moments like that.

In her opening set, Moorer did a memorably southern-fried version of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.”

What did you think of the concert? Please comment here:

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