Tedeschi Trucks Band, Chicago Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

The Tedeschi Trucks Band is the named for its two founding members, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks. Both were successful musicians in on their own prior to meeting. Tedeschi formed the Susan Tedeschi Band in the early 90s and released a number of records throughout the following years. Derek Trucks is the
nephew of Butch Trucks, drummer and founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. Trucks was a guitar prodigy by the age of eleven and had played with musicians such as Bob Dylan and Stephen Stills by the time he was twenty. By this time, he was also a frequent guest performer in his uncle’s band. By the late 90s, he had formed his own band, The Derek Trucks Band, and a few years later had also joined the Allmans as a full member. Tedeschi and Trucks married in 2001 and formed a band bearing both their names in 2010, though they had collaborated on and off for a number of years prior.

The Tedeschi Trucks Band carries on the legacy of The Allman Brothers Band, following the latter’s dissolution in 2014. Tedeschi sings and plays rhythm guitar; Trucks plays lead guitar. Rounding out the band is a large group of talented musicians including a bassist, three brass players, three backup vocalists, keyboards, and a pair of drummers. Opening act Leon Russell also joined them onstage on his grand piano for a few songs as well. At one point in the show, one of the backup singers took over on lead vocals, and Tedeschi stood with the other backup singers. I thought it was pretty cool that even though the band bears her name, she had the grace and lack of ego to step entirely out of the spotlight. She later left the stage for Derek to do an extended jam.

Unsurprisingly, the crowd was older and nearly everyone sat throughout the show. My back was bothering me, and I stood in the aisle in front of my seat before the show started. I was also waiting for my friend to return from the bathroom so I didn’t make my rowmates get up twice. As soon as the lights came down, but before the band was even on stage, I start getting booed to sit down. This was an audience that was committed to sitting, or at least I thought. Really, it was probably just one woman in my section, as she again started yelling that I wasn’t sitting low enough in my chair. Frankly, it gave me great pleasure when all the people between us told her to shut up before I had a chance. There was one section in the middle in which a bunch of people were standing. While a couple of the people behind weren’t happy about it, it was too many people to guilt them all.

Their set consisted of five songs from Let Me Get By (2016), three from Made Up Mind (2013), one from Revelator (2011), one unknown song of theirs that I’m not quite sure where it came from, half a dozen covers, and an extended imrov jam. One of the covers was David Bowie’s “It Ain't Easy,” likely added to the setlist recently following the glam rock legend’s death less than two weeks prior. There were no songs in particular that I wanted to hear, but it was an overall enjoyable show with equal parts driving guitar and southern charm.

Setlist:
Laugh About It
Don't Know What It Means

The Letter [The Box Tops cover]
Made Up Mind
Darlin' Be Home Soon [The Lovin’ Spoonful cover] [with Leon Russell]
Sticks and Stones [Titus Turner cover] [with Leon Russell]
Idle Wind
Anyhow
I Want More
Within You Without You
Just As Strange
I Pity the Fool [Bobby “Blue” Bland cover]
Bound for Glory
Improvisation
The Storm
Encore:
It Ain't Easy [David Bowie cover]
I Cannot Make It [Sly & the Family Stone cover]