Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Thrill Sold-Out Robinson Center in Little Rock

by Julian Spivey
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit put on a fantastic show at Robinson Music Center in Little Rock, Ark. on Sunday (Jan. 21). It was the group’s first visit to Little Rock in more than four years when they opened for Dawes at the smaller Rev Room in October of 2013.
​
Little Rock was ready for Isbell and the 400 Unit’s return selling out Robinson Music Center, which was renovated in 2016 and looks fantastic. The venue could be Arkansas’ answer to The Orpheum in Memphis. Hopefully it’ll continue to book awesome acts like Isbell. Currently the venue seems to book more plays and musicals than anything.

Isbell, who is nominated for two Grammy Awards next weekend for his fantastic 2017 release The Nashville Sound, opened the show with a couple of standouts from his previous release Something More Than Free from 2015 with “24 Frames” and the title track from that album.

Fans of his latest work needn’t worry as he would perform eight of the new album’s 10 tracks by the end of the night, including terrific rocking performances of “Hope the High Road” and “Cumberland Gap,” which were my two favorite tracks on The Nashville Sound.

“Tupelo” and “Molotov” were other great performances from the new record, with “White Man’s World” and “Last of My Kind” really standing out, as well. “White Man’s World” is especially fun to hear in such a conservative state as Arkansas, but I don’t know how many in attendance really needed to hear its message of how we’re all in this world together and should get along. Though, there have been stories of some Isbell fans being off-put by the song’s message before. “Last of My Kind,” which was likely Isbell’s quietest performance of the night really led me to thinking he honestly might be the last of his kind – you don’t find too many singer-songwriters with his introspection, thoughtfulness and songwriting aptitude anymore. This is why he’s pretty much the reigning king of Americana.  

Isbell and the 400 Unit spread the love around from the group’s career performing multiple tracks off Isbell’s last four studio albums, as well as multiple tracks from his days with Drive-By Truckers, the best active Southern Rock group around.

One of my favorite performances from the concert was the epic “Decoration Day,” which was the title track to the Drive-By Truckers 2003 album. The song tells the tale of a Hatfields & McCoys like feud in the South and might be Isbell’s finest rocker. He ended his set with “Never Gonna Change,” which included a fantastic guitar duel between Isbell and Sadler Vaden. The two-guitar sound to the 400 Unit is exceptional, with Isbell and Vaden taking turns on solos on many of the night’s tunes.

It’s always great hearing “Stockholm” and “Cover Me Up” in concert, two of Isbell’s finest vocal performances to date. It’s probably the fourth or fifth time I’ve heard these two in concert and they always stand among the finest in his set.

The 400 Unit is one of the finest backing bands in any musical genre with the incredibly talented drummer Chad Gamble leading the way with bassist Jimbo Hart, keyboardist (and fantastic accordion player on “Codeine”) Derry DeBorja and Vaden on guitar following behind. One unfortunate aspect of the 400 Unit’s performance on Sunday night is it didn’t include violinist and Isbell’s wife Amanda Shires, as she’s back home in Nashville putting the final touches on an upcoming album that Isbell thought would be released toward the end of summer. She’s always a great addition to the group’s sound, but they trucked right along without her.

Isbell finished up his fantastic set with a two-song encore that included a rip-roaring cover of the Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers classic “Refugee,” much to the enjoyment of the packed house – which finally decided to get up on their damn feet for the encore (more on that in a bit). Isbell has been playing a Petty song in tribute to the late rocker who died last October at many of his shows, typically alternating “Refugee” and “American Girl.”

Isbell would then finish his show with the beautiful “If We Were Vampires,” which is an unusual love song in that it talks about one’s mortality and how even the greatest of loves will end, and it’s something that makes love stronger.

Fantastic singer-songwriter James McMurtry opened the night for Isbell and the 400 Unit with an eight-song set that included incredible story songs “Copper Canteen” and “You Got to Me” from his 2015 release Complicated Game. I was thrilled McMurtry performed these two selections, which show the great literary apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree as he’s the son of Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry.

I hate to end my review on a negative note as the performances were great, and the venue was fantastic both in sound, look and feel, but the audience – which I thought would be a little cooler than it was – got on my nerves multiple times throughout the night. First off, this is a damn rock show with one of the finest singer-songwriters and performers touring today and people acted treated it more like an orchestral performance. It’s OK to get up and move and scream along with the performer at the top of your lungs. The only time the crowd seemed to think it was OK to get up and move was the many trips to the concessions for overpriced beer and then the trips to the restroom that resulted from the previous trips. I’m not sure if others in attendance had as much of an issue with this, but Row M on the Orchestra Level of the venue had me contemplating tripping folks as they constantly walked by. It was obnoxious, but not quite enough to ruin a terrific night of music.

---