Isbell: Bama-born alt-country

By Aaron Davis (for JHWeekly.com)Jackson Hole, Wyo.-There’s something potent to be said about the point in an artist’s career at which you experience their creative output in a concert atmosphere. For the Grateful Dead, the 1977 tour has been called its peak. Some say that Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue period (1955-61) was his best. And for Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, it’s reasonable to speculate that they could be in the midst of a great era.Isbell, a former member of alt-country rockers Drive-By Truckers (2001-2007), released his second album with The 400 Unit, Here We Rest, in 2011. The album—No. 7 on the Americana Music Association’s top albums and also one of my favorites of the year—is a quintessential alt-country album. It’s got rockers, tearjerkers and simplistic, genuine songwriting. You know, the stuff that mainstream country radio lacks.Being from Northern Alabama, a region that has been hit especially hard in the recent economic downturn, the characters depicted in the songs on Here We Rest have been through the ringer. The darker side of disrepair is not a comfortable place, nor a happy-go-lucky foundation from which to put pen to paper. Tough times affect everyone differently, and in this case, it produced a memorable batch of songs for the 32-year-old.“[The 400 Unit] has played a lot of shows together and most of the guys in the band I’ve known since I was a teenager,” Isbell said. “The one thing we wanted to do in the studio was record these songs honestly.”The road band, which has now played more than 400 shows together, includes keyboard player Derry deBorja, bassist Jimbo Hart and drummer Chad Gamble. Touring the country is hard enough as it is, but when a band’s entire van and trailer full of gear are stolen, that’s a kick in the pants when a man is down. The band’s 15-passenger van and trailer were parked outside a Dallas Holiday Inn Express when, in the middle of the day, it all disappeared. Despite recovering the van and trailer, the gear will likely never be recovered.“It’s a shame,” Isbell admitted. “It wasn’t everything we owned. We’ve learned to pair it down on the road with the necessities. We had insurance, so we are gradually rebuilding. It could have been worse … where we had an accident or somebody got robbed at gunpoint. We are just happy that no one got hurt.”In the company of his friends and musical peers Ryan Adams and Justin Townes Earle, Isbell is making a lasting impression in a genre that sees little mainstream airplay. The voice, the guitar skills, the songwriter’s muse, the kick-ass band—Isbell has the goods and this is likely to be one of the best shows of the winter at the Tavern.Local Americana quartet, Screen Door Porch (of which I’m a member), will open the show. The group’s debut, self-titled release was recently recognized in the Roots Music Report’s Top 100 Folk Albums of 2011.307 Live presents Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit with guests Screen Door Porch at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, at Town Square Tavern. Tickets are $20, available at 307live.inticketing.com, the Tavern Liquor Store, or at the door. Check Facebook.com/307Live or call 733-3886 for more information. tags: jackson hole show music musician live band singer songwriter nightlife concerts wyoming center arts photographer planet teton venues screen door porch boondocks guitar