As Charlie Starr belts out the lyrics “Let’s Live It Up ‘til We Can’t Live It Down”, the packed house at Jannus Live is singing along and they fully intend to do just that, live it up. Yes, Blackberry Smoke has brought their brand of country-tinged southern rock to St. Petersburg. For all their ardent fans in Southwest Florida, there is no better way to kick off the weekend than to catch the band’s Rasslin’ Is Real tour. In support of the tour, Blackberry Smoke has brought along country singer Elizabeth Cook.
Friday nights in downtown St. Petersburg are always busy as there is much to explore in the nightlife. But tonight it seems as though Jannus Live was the mecca for a good time. While a good band will always draw a crowd, tonight Blackberry Smoke really packed them in early. After all, it’s the best way to get those coveted spots at the rail and its unobstructed view. This worked out really well for opener Elizabeth Cook as she had a big crowd to play for. With a Dolly Parton-esque voice, singing some very striking lyrics she entertained the crowd with her brand of country music.
As the clock struck nine, The band hit the stage and launched into “Live It Down” from their latest album You Hear Georgia. Blackberry Smoke has built a reputation as a band that constantly tours, and seconds into the first song it’s easy to see the results of their hard work. The band still sounds tack sharp and tight yet still maintains that relaxed vibe that southern rock has. As ‘You Hear Georgia’ is the band’s latest album, they gave the fans a healthy dose of songs from it. Of course, their latest singles “Hey Delilah” and the title track “You Hear Georgia” were played. Charlie Starr got a good laugh out of the audience when introducing “You Hear Georgia”. He told the crowd that a fan asked if it was a political song. His response was “shit no! it’s anti-political”.
Of course, they played some of their most popular songs like “One Horse Town”, “Good One Comin’ On”, and “Till The Wheels Fall Off”. But there were also some surprises tossed into a couple of the songs. As the crowd was getting into their performance of “Sleeping Dogs”, the guys threw a curve ball by breaking into the Tom Petty classic song “Don’t Come Around Here No More”. Of course, that interlude went over extremely well as everyone was singing along to it. They saved one more for the last song of the night “Ain’t Much Left Of Me”. After getting done playing a wicked slide guitar solo Charlie Starr gave the crowd a big smile and quickly shifted gears. He then started playing the instantly recognizable riff from the Norman Greenbaum hit song “Spirit In The Sky”. After the band quickly played the chorus, they jumped right back into their own song seamlessly to finish out the night.
Tonight was a perfect example of why Blackberry Smoke shows are always packed. They play their music with a relaxed precision that few bands dare to try and emulate. While it is easy to go on the internet and see what songs a band has played on tour, Blackberry Smoke gave a perfect example of how they can change things up in a heartbeat and provide a fun unique performance each night. Whether you have caught them ten times or this will be your very first show, no matter the case you will be guaranteed to have a great night.
Review and Photos by Mark Matson
