Trampled by Turtles North American Tour – REVIEW

We had the chance to attend and review Trampled by Turtles’ current North American tour with These United States. You can check out the review of the tour after the break.

If anyone is looking for some good bluegrass to get into, then Trampled by Turtles is the grass you want. Trampled had a rowdy night of collaboration with their opener, These United States, for their Friday the 13th concert and showed Chicago, yet again, that they’re here to stay. The Metro played host, and the energetic crowd packed the place pretty tight. Of late, Trampled by Turtles have been touring to support the newly released album, Stars and Satellites.

These United States were a strong opener for Trampled. The East-Coast based rock and roll group has a knack for tight song-writing and a good energy to them, gesturing to rile the crowd up in between songs. The bassist was rocking out during “Honor Amongst Thieves,” a high-spirited southern rock piece which they used to kick off the night. These United States’ lead singer Jesse Elliot has a distinctive and soulful voice, and belted out “what’s my part in all this mess?” through-out the kickass song. It was nicely contrasted and possibly even overshadowed by the slow crooner, “We Go Down to the Corner,” which featured the awesome finger picking of Trampled by Turtles Mandolin player Erik Barry. These United States will actually be playing another concert with Trampled by Turtles in the D.C. on 4/20, as part of the “All Good Music Festival Presents” series.

When Trampled hit the stage, their fans were yipping and yelling in true bluegrass fashion. Eager for the music to start, people cheered as soon as they started with “Midnight on the Interstate,” the beautiful opening track to Stars and Satellites. This launched into a great night that sampled the breadth of their work. Their recent album was part of their continuing maturity after 5 albums, which have all been released from their own studio, and this show put all that side-by-side with classics. A few of such were their fast-paced songs “Help You,” off of their album Palomino, and “It’s a War,” which had people up front jigging until the last notes of each song.  They also played “The Darkness and the Light,” a kickback from an older album, Duluth, and fan favorite for good reason: Erik Barry’s staccato picking gives the song such a lively feel. And it’s not just Erik Barry who shreds. Ryan Youngs’ fiddling is rich and fast and flows smoothly over the whole lot of them all harmonizing with each other. The hailing example of this was the epic, two-part ballad “Bloodshot Eyes.” The song was a big surprise to some die-hards who attest the song doesn’t get the live treatment very often.

Then, unexpectedly, These United States busted onstage and announced that they were going to pick a “turtle-buddy” for the next song, much to the confusion and enjoyment of the crowd. Trampled then started the patiently moving “Alone,” another great example of the tight writing that Trampled does. The buildup of the song alone is awesome, but it got even better when the previous confusion was lifted and These United States came back out and sang the rest of the song with Trampled. The best part was when crowd joined in on the chorus, giving the Metro a much homier feel than it could ever elicit itself.

As the Metro poured out its guests, people were expressing some unduly, but earned love for the band. Many agree, it’s worth catching them for their set at Lollapalooza or All Good Festival.

Information about the review…
Tour: Trampled by Turtles North American Tour
Bands: Trampled by Turtles and These United States
Reviewer: Eric Witt
Date: April 13, 2012
Venue: The Metro in Chicago, IL