[show_avatar email=db@iwenttoashow.com align=left avatar_size=62]North Mississippi Allstars is a live show staple for me.  Over the years, I’ve seen them play in a wide assortment of venues. Everything from a half full Mississippi Nights to huge crowds at Memphis in May. There’s one thing consistent about these guys and it’s the quality of their live performance. They will show up every night, put on a barn burner of a show and they’ll make it look easy.

When it comes to putting on a solid, fist pumping performance, Friday night at The Pageant was no different than any other NMAS show I’ve seen. What was different was the presentation. I knew something was up with bassists Chris Chew’s amp was not even setup. When the roadies brought a chair in front of Luther Dickinson’s guitar rig, I had a feeling something special was on tap.

Luther took a seat, said hello, and proceeded to give a clinic on how a grown ass man plays the blues guitar. Thinking back to all the times I’ve seen this band, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Luther play solo and it was mean. The stripped back hill country blues of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and Mississippi Fred McDowell all had a direct impact on not only the music of NMAS, but their lives. While this is almost always in the forefront, it was never as obvious as it was with Luther seated and solo.

A few songs into the solo set, Luther’s brother, Cody walks out to a cheering crowd and takes a seat behind his drum kit. From that point on, the display of raw talent on stage was something that I’ll never forget. The duo rock and rolled their way through blues classics that defined the genre and NMAS originals that are basically classics to me.

After an intermission, Chris Chew joined the Dickinson brothers on stage to add some low end.  This allowed the boys to stretch out the songs a little bit, giving Luther a little space to stretch his fingers and show why he needs an entire row of guitars at his disposal. Speaking of guitars, he played everything from a cigar box to some weird thing that almost looked like a tiny banjo (Sorry, Woodruff!!) with a full size guitar neck. I don’t know what it was, but it didn’t matter because whatever Luther picks up, he plays the hell out of it.

With the trio now complete, a few of the songs off their latest album Keys to the Kingdom made an appearance. The songs on Keys to the Kingdom are a tribute to the Dickinson brother’s late father, Jim Dickinson.  They’re more gospel and more reflective. I was curious how they would work in NMAS’ normally high energy set, but they fit perfect. Not to say the set with Chew wasn’t a dance party, there were still a lot of really smokin’ blues songs. One of those moments was when Cody brought out the electric washboard. Over the years, this electric washboard has gone from a crude instrument to a work of art. I can’t describe the sound this instrument makes, it’s just one of those things you really need to experience for yourself.

Nathaniel Rateliff opened up for NMAS and was more than half of the reason why I bought tickets to this show. I’ve become completely enamored with his music since catching their last St. Louis show at Off Broadway and I could not wait to hear them live again. This would be their first night of a new tour, and though guitarist Joseph Pope III later noted some missteps in their set, I thought it sounded fantastic. They’ve gained some popularity across the pond in the U.K. and they seemed comfortable on the big stage of The Pageant, though they did setup close to each other rather than utilize the entire stage. It felt like a smaller show built into a larger show. They basically played all my favorites off their latest album In Memory of Loss, including “You Should Have Seen the Other Guy”, “When We Could”, and “Brakeman”. They’re scheduled to open for Jessica Lea Mayfield at Off Broadway on May 13^th and I suggest you get yourself down there in time for his set. I don’t think you’ll be too let down.

For more fantastic photos from that wonderful night of music, check out Corey Woodruff’s post.