Last Train Home Review

My wife and I saw a stripped down (instrument wise not clothes wise) version of Last Train Home at the Rams Head Tavern in Annapolis last night. They gave a typically solid 2 set performance with several highlights. The band lineup consisted of acoustic guitar, electric guitar, trumpet, bass and drums. Absent from previous times were the steel guitar and keyboard/accordinist Jen Gunderson. Still the band provided plenty of sound to fill the club. Eric Brace leads the band singing and playing acoustic guitar as well as writing most of the original material. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, spending most of his break time greeting and chatting with folks in the audience. You get the feeling that he knows most of them personally.
Back to the music. The band played solidly throughout. Highlights for me included a song called "Crazy Mama" that included a very jazzy trumpet solo from Kevin Cordt which morphed into a very bluesy guitar solo by Scott Wiedemeier. I admire bands who do interesting covers and LTH obliged. They did Bob Dylan's "Tonight I'll be Staying Here With You", Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", Harry Nillson's "Everybody's Talking" (which I learned was written by someone else) and a song by country storyteller Tom T Hall. Another highlight for me was the medley of Louisiana and Merle Haggard's "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down" which included another blistering guitar solo by Wiedemeier. Also worth mentioning is drummer Martin Linds' very solid backing vocals. I guess having a drummer that can sing backup is like having a good fielding second baseman who is also capable of hitting 20 home runs. Twice the value for the price.
LTH is a very solid band musically. Eric Brace is a very personable front man as well as a good singer and songwriter. The band works very well together. Kevin Cordt's trumpet adds another dimension to the folkish sound and when given the opportunity to stretch, the players can produce some memorable solos. My only complaint is that they missed some of favorites, like "Matchbox Message" and Paul Kelly's "To Her Door". But a nice night out for me and the missus.
There's a link to LTH's website to the right.