Sing about your troubles. That may well have been the phrase the Wood Brothers needed to hear to prompt the resumption of their 2024 summer tour. Frankly, it was shocking ‘Sing About It’ wasn’t included among the 21 songs in their set list, although there wasn’t even a single clunker to sub for in the batch.
The brothers’ dad, Bill, passed on in May. He played guitar with folk music diva Joan Baez during the ‘60s when music became a soundtrack for the Baby Boomer generation. He inspired his sons to become musicians, and losing him resulted in the cancellation of three New England dates before the tour resumed June 7th. Three nights later, they rolled into Wilmington, NC and Greenfield Lake Amphitheatre for a late afternoon show, opened by the rapidly rising folk/pop duo, The Bygones.
Just as Oliver Wood approached the microphone to open the show with ‘Blue and Green’, droplets of rain spattered on the crowd, many who had gathered in front of the stage at the open-air amphitheatre. This could easily have been the precursor to a thunderstorm which are common in this port city by the Atlantic Ocean. Undaunted, men and women of all ages began shouting out song titles. Prior to the show, the Wood Brothers had asked for requests on social media and were inundated with so many that fulfilling them all would have required extending the close to the two and a half hour show by at least double.
Brothers Chris and Oliver Wood have developed a loyal and avid following during their nearly twenty years as a band. And as the show transitioned from daylight to darkness, there wasn’t any doubt that these followers had memorized the lyrics to every verse, chorus and bridge for nearly every single song and weren’t the least bit shy about singing out as if they were seated in an enormous circle around a campfire. At times, the volume of this collective singing came close to overwhelming the vocals from the stage.
As the subdued notes of the opening song came to an end, Oliver mused about never having played alongside a swamp before while people began hollering “It’s a lake.” ‘River Takes the Town’ (off the “One Drop of Truth” album) was perhaps not the most ideal choice for the next tune given that the sky was still spitting raindrops and the song was about Hurricane Harvey dumping flood waters in Houston. After that one, Oliver asked if anyone had seen the alligator that may or may not have been spotted near the swamp/lake, and before anyone could deny its existence, the band launched into the unsettling groove of ‘Tried and Tempted,’ its fire stoked by multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix, who was playing piano with his right hand while drumming with his left, not to mention also singing harmony.
“Heart Is the Hero” is their 8th and latest album. It has more of an acoustic flavour which was displayed on ’Pilgrim,’ surprisingly the only song from the album performed during the 140 minutes. This could have been due to the majority of the set list coming from requests, a typical result as fans want to hear familiar material from when they first heard the band. ‘Pilgrim’ has the type of be-in-the-moment message absorbed from either a spiritual awakening or attending a motivational seminar by Eckhart Tolle. From there, the band changed the tempo with the buoyant ‘Little Bit Sweet,’ which explores the chutes and ladders nature of living a life.
Another highlight of the night came when Chris Wood coaxed his upright string bass into an eerie whine on the ragtime ‘Chocolate on My Tongue’ while many olfactory receptors picked up the aroma of what might have been weed in the night air whereby munchies-afflicted fans bolted for the concession stands in search of chocolate bars. Chris also shined on ‘Postcards from Hell,’ adding bursts from a harmonica to his thumping bass. Playing live, the Wood Brothers seem to be constantly experimenting to discover obscure techniques for achieving variances within the structure of their songs. The set wouldn’t have been complete without a bouncy version of ‘Happiness Jones,’ inspired by a groove from a Bill Withers song and carrying its cautionary message of how Jonesin’ for constant pleasure won’t allow you to avoid the struggles everyone faces at times.
The Bygones, whose timeless sound emanates from a shared nostalgia for 20th century music, turned in a near-flawless opening set. Joshua Lee Turner’s virtuosity on guitar was only unleashed in small doses, though his talent is undeniable, while Allison Reed’s silky vocals were perfectly suited for the fanciful nature within many of their songs. The duo joined the Wood Brothers on stage for a rousing rendition of ‘Angel Band’ with Jano Rix on his Shuitar, which he has described as a sort of “crappy guitar with traps and bells” along with other assorted percussion pieces attached. Three more songs before the encore awaited. Hardly anyone was spotted leaving the grounds to beat the traffic, and why would they? A scan of the crowd found people still grooving and swaying as ‘Honey Jar’ brought this enduring night of music to conclusion.
“And you’re hoping and you’re praying real hard
If you will it you can wish it if heaven has a honey jar”
Pushing the envelope, as Chris Wood is prone to call it, is what the band likes to do, and it’s not difficult to see they are having themselves a grand old time nudging that envelope from one show to the next, from one request to another, dispensing buckets of pleasure to steadfast fans along the way.
