Justin Townes Earle sure isn’t his daddy – and that’s truly an awesome and remarkable thing. Though the work of the elder Earle has made its mark for good reason, there’s hardly a roots artist – for lack of a better, all-encompassing term – around today as candid and musically versatile as JTE. He appeared on Cannery Ballroom’s candlelit stage Friday night as a smartly-dressed gent and played nearly an hour and a half’s worth of old and new songs that were still resonating the next day.
Earle made Jason Isbell’s set, which was right before, seem a little monotonous in comparison. With bassist Bryn Davies and fiddle player Amanda Shires hacking it out with Earle nearly the entire set, he breezed through vintage ’50s and ’60s country swing and folk as easily as he ground out the blues. It hit home from start to finish, from the wrenching “Slippin’ and Slidin’” to “Memphis in the Rain.” It’s hardly a secret that Earle’s rougher experiences have squirmed their way into his songwriting, but therein lies the beauty of his work and the explanation for his songs’ dual personalities – even when his experiences themselves aren’t relatable, the emotions are.
It’s just a shame that the venue, save for the cluster of folks nearest the stage, was louder than an elementary school cafeteria, and the glare of cell phones contested with the lights onstage. Earle wasn’t fazed by anything though, offering possibly the world’s pleasantest “fuck you” to whomever yelled out a request for “Copperhead Road,” and encoring with the beautiful gospel number “Harlem River Blues” with a stage packed with backup that included Isbell. – Jessica Pace