Simpson goes out in a blaze of glory

It may have been the closing night of his touring for the year, but lest anyone think that Simpson was ready to dial it in, head home and call it a year, no. Nope. No way.

On the second of two quick sell-outs at the venue, Simpson and his utterly supple backing band seemed to suggest that they were ready to go out in a blaze of glory considering the circumstances.

This was a night of both country music on the traditional side along with a few forms of rock, a hefty dose of jamming and surprising covers.

Further evidence that Simpson was not mailing it in was the length of this "An Evening With Sturgill Simpson" – 3:25 hours with no intermission.

Simpson started well enough with the acid rock of "Best Clockmaker on Mars," but the longer the night went, the better it got. Simpson played half a dozen songs from his latest, "Passage du Desir" (technically, that's not a Simpson album as he adopted the alter ego of "Johnny Blue Skies") and focused on "Sound & Fury" with eight songs. But he gave ample space to all of his albums except the two "Cutting Grass" releases and "The Ballad of Dood and Juanita."

Simpson offered a diverse group of covers ranging from Prince's "Purple Rain" (at first glance, one might think that not within Simpson's wheelhouse, but pretty much everything was) to the lovely honky tonk chestnut "I Never Go Round Mirrors" to The Doors' "L.A. Woman" and closing out the night with Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale." Simpson made each his own.

This may have been a generally low-key affair when it came to the staging, but an unusual one at that because Simpson and his trio were near the front of the stage, grouped closely together.

Simpson's backing band was not exactly low key. They were simply at the top of their game. It all started with guitarist Laur Joamets along with Kevin Black on bass and Miles Miller on drums. Joamets, who hails from Estonia (Simpson said the tour would continue next year in Europe with a stop in Estonia where he jokingly said he would be playing for Joamets), fortunately is back in the fold after a six-year absence following an apparent rift. Simpson was not the same when he last toured in these parts in 2017 mainly because of Joamets' absence. He was one meaty, rich guitarist, giving seemingly every song just the right lick or amount of guitar. Miller was a force in setting the beat and sticking to it.

With a few very long songs clocking in north of 10 minutes, Miller had no trouble keeping the time. In fact, the songs – and show- just was stronger and stronger as the night wore on. When Simpson and band churned for minutes on the lengthy "Fastest Horse in Town" and "Brace for Impact (Live a Little)," the music just seemed to get better and better and more intense with repeating lines.

This may have been the end of the road for Simpson in 2024, but what a way to go out.