Jason Isbell played his inaugural Madison performance away from his band mates (Drive By Truckers) at the Union on Saturday night. Madison Music Review was there to witness a beautiful evening and a great performance.

Jason and his band (The 400 Unit) relied heavily on a mix of tracks from his strong solo release, Sirens of the Ditch [Buy It] while also managing to feed the appetite of hungry Drive By Truckers fans with material from Decoration Day and The Dirty South. An interesting choice of covers such as a dead on Psycho Killer from left field, a well fitting version of Springsteen’s Atlantic City and a full-on take of Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak. Somehow that song just seemed to fit well with the feel on the stage.

Two plus hours of bold southern fried rock and amazing guitar antics went by too quickly: As Isbell walked off the stage and tipped back the last drops of the Jack Daniels bottle, we somehow knew we had not seen the last of this lone trucker.

Make sure you get your tickets for the Drive By Truckers (with Spooner Oldham) at the Barrymore on Oct 20. (All Photos by Mr. Bill)