— Arts&LifG
Sirens of the Ditch a strong debut
by Zack Harding
Arts & Life Editor
This has been a dynamic year
for Jason Isbell; he split from a
six plus year relationship with
the Drive by Truckers and then
released his solo debut, Sirens
of the Ditch. And it’s great.
Much of Sirens sounds
similar to Isbell’s work with the
Truckers, with several of the
eleven tracks being country-
rock ballads. There are also the
up tempo rock numbers, such
as “Brand New Kind of
Actress,” which harkens back
to his old songs like “The Day
John Henry Died.” Given that,
there is a definite split between
Sirens and the records he put
out with the Truckers.
First of all, Jason is clearly
approaching a more pop-
oriented sound, with catchy
hooks and lyrics woven into
almost every song. Overall, the
tone is more mass market
friendly and less dark than a
Truckers record. Also, there is
by Karen Love
Staff Writer
When I first heard that the
Second City Comedy Tour was
coming to Brevard College, I
almost peed in my pants. No,
really. I was expecting to
experience a night chock full of
hilarious sketches witty one-
liners and snappy
improvisations. I was not
disappointed.
The first act opened rather
slowly with a hard-to-follow
club sketch but quickly picked
up with the singing of a song
entitled, “Why does everyone
hate the white guy?” The
shining stars of that act were
the hilarious hit-and-run one
a little bit more genre variety
with Sirens, such as the bar
blues piano ballad “Hurricanes
and Hand Grenades,” and the
bluegrass tinged “Magician”.
One high point of the album
is “Dress Blues,” a heart-
wrenching tribute to a soldier
killed in Iraq who was from
Jason’s home town. The song
liners, dealing with everything
from abortion to what a human
bagpipe would sound like. Yes,
I said a human bagpipe.
After a 20 minute intermission
the cast returned to the stage
with some fresh material, most
of which was in the form of
some pretty intricate sketches.
Now I must say that the best
sketch of the night also made
its appearance during this act.
The sketch I am (reverently)
speaking of was a blend
between the classic movie
“Dirty Dancing” and, you
should sit for this, the war on
terror Yes, it’s true. This sketch
was complete with women in
head dresses, men with guns
and, to top it all off, a dance
is mostly devoid of political
commentary, which is a pretty
smart move, as it makes the
death of the soldier the primary
focus.
Other highlights include the
grungy rocker “Try”, the
swampy “Down in a hole” and
the lyrically clever “Grown”
which rhymes “hurricane” with
number that was true to the
movie.
Once the audience had calmed
down a little, it was then
announced that there was
going to be a surprise third act.
Those silly comedians with
their surprise third acts, I mean
really, is it necessary? The
entire act was improvised and
a little hard to follow, but fuimy
nonetheless.
Overall, the evening was
incredible. I enjoyed every
minute of it, and judging by the
chuckhng of the people around
me, most everyone else there
did too. The Second City did
an amazing job, and if we are
lucky they will be back next
year.
“Purple Rain”. How could you
not like that?
Sirens ends with “The Devil
is My Running Mate,” a
seething political commentary
that pulls no punches. It is a
very sparse track leaving much
space for the gloomy lyrics to
end the album with a strong
and somewhat bitter taste. It is
an excellent song but doesn’t
seem to fit the mood of the rest
of the songs, given that, it’s still
so good that it helps the album
overall.
Ultimately, Sirens is missing
those rock sohd one-liners that
made his work on Truckers
albums like Decoration Day so
very good. Also, since Jason
is such a talented slide guitarist
and lead player, it is a shame
that Sirens has such a lack of
both. Still, there is no doubt
that he is a talented songwriter
with great things to come.
Upcoming events at
the Porter Center:
Sunday, Sept. 23 -
John Weaver-
Organist
Saturday, October
6- Allen Toussaint -
New Orleans R&B
Wednesday, Octo
ber 17-Ecco-
Classical
Monday October
22- Edgar Meyer,
Jerry Douglas & Sam
Bush - Bluegrass
Second City not second rate