The Sons of Bill played for an intimate and enthusiastic audience at Bottletree Café in Birmingham, Alabama. Ironically the next day they boarded a plane to England for a European tour, in which one of the stops in the UK will also be Birmingham. That should set the table for an intriguing linguistic study comparing English and Alabama accents. I think their findings will be that “them folks over their talk knda’ funnyâ€. However, my purpose is not to discuss accents. Therefore let’s move on to the music.
The band is touring in support of their first-rate new release, “Love and Logicâ€. This album was produced by Kevin Coomer (Wilco and Uncle Tupelo), who helped the band utilize instrumentation in a way that expands their sound. The feel of the new recording carried over to their live show. Sons of Bill opened the show with “Lost in the Cosmos†from the new release. There was an understated ethereal feel to the song, which mixed cohesively with its introspective lyrics. The sound of the song is also representative of the overall feel of “Love and Logicâ€. The three Wilson brothers, who are the core of the band, have always shown themselves to be accomplished songwriters. However, seeing them live it is also apparent that they are talented musicians.
The result was a tightly performed set of songs from their current and previous releases that was a perfect complement to the lyrical depth of their songs. “Brand New Paradigm†was another excellent live version from the new release. However the powerful performance of “Big Unknown†was the show stealer. The more hook laden songs of earlier releases were also crowd pleasers. When the band played the crowd favorite “Santa Ana Windsâ€, they introduced it as a song about arson, from the perspective of the arsonist. To satisfy my curiosity, I was able to get the full story after the show. While recording “Sirens†in California, one of their sessions was cancelled due to a forest fire that was the result of arson. Apparently they were told that people go crazy when the Santa Ana Winds start to blow.
I certainly hope the folks in the Birmingham “across the pond†enjoy themselves as much as the audience in Alabama did.
About the author: Chip and his family live in Birmingham, AL. Roll Tide!