Burg Review: Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit deliver a powerful opening to HU Presents Summer Series

Jason Isbell on the Riverfront Park stage on Wednesday night

HU Presents Summer Series kicked off Wednesday night with a spectacular show from singer-songwriter Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

Even with the climbing temps, about 4,000 attendees ditched an evening in air conditioning for the show at Riverfront Park. The atmosphere felt relaxed, yet still brimming with excitement and energy.

After a haunting opening set from S.G. Goodman that would have fit right in with stage acts on David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks: The Return,” Isbell took the stage around 9:15 and powered through 19 songs, mostly starting with songs from the band’s recent “Weathervanes” LP.

Kicking things off with “When We Were Close,” Isbell’s class act musicianship and penchant for guitar solos really exuded from every song. Although we were only three songs in, the guitar solo on “King of Oklahoma” was so mind blowing that the show could have ended right after that and I’d have felt 100% satisfied.

Jason Isbell and his band, the 400 Unit

Isbell endeared himself as one of the most personable and charismatic folks in show business, frequently talking to the audience between songs with lots of gratitude, graciously introducing his bandmates and touting their talents with every chance he could. Some touches that I found so charming were the additions of accordion accompaniment on “Strawberry Woman” and “Cast Iron Skillet.”

About halfway into the set, around the time the band played “Overseas,” talk of Isbell’s time in Drive by Truckers came up, prompting cheers from the crowd, who then broke into even more uproarious praise when Isbell talked about his sobriety. He then told some stories about his time in the early days before singing his beautiful hit “Alabama Pines” from 2011’s “Here We Rest.”

There were quite a few times Isbell threw the limelight over to guitarist Sadler Vaden, who audience members might recognize from Vaden’s time in Drivin N Cryin, and the band even did a rendition of Drivin N Cryin’s “Honeysuckle Blue” that was so fun to watch. I heard quite a few people in the audience singing along to this one, which just added to the sheer joy unfolding on stage. Isbell also took the opportunity to share his gratitude for central PA treating him so well and said his daughter, who he shares with fellow musician Amanda Shires (who is also his wife), had a great time skating around the city before the concert.

The band ended their performance with a solemn but beautiful “Cover Me Up,” where Isbell was all but alone on stage for this one, awash in moody purple lighting until his bandmates slowly and dramatically started joining in on stage again with guitar, gong hits and some help from organs. With that, they thanked the crowd and left the stage for about three minutes.

Amidst cheers from the audience, Isbell and the 400 Unit came back and broke into an energetic “24 Frames,” before the stunningly beautiful “If We Were Vampires.” I didn’t know this until Isbell shared this at the concert, but he said he wrote “If We Were Vampires” while on a day off in Hershey, which just made it feel all the more special, before ending with a rocking finish of “This Ain’t It.” And in true Jason Isbell fashion, thanked the crowd twice again before making an exit.