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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit celebrate First Ave Star

September 26, 2022

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit performed at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday, September 24, 2022.Sara Fish for MPR

In a small ceremony on Saturday afternoon, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit were awarded a long-awaited First Avenue star. At that evening’s sold-out main room show, they proved exactly why they deserved that honor.

The show was billed as “A Very Special Evening with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.” But special was an understatement — it was nothing short of spectacular. Isbell (that’s Is-BULL, not Is-BELL), along with fellow 400 Unit members Sadler Vaden (guitar), Jimbo Hart (bass), Derry DeBorja (keyboards), and Chad Gamble (drums), treated the die-hard crowd to a career-spanning set that clocked in at an impressive two hours and ten minutes. (Absent from the stage was Isbell’s wife Amanda Shires, who’s currently touring on her acclaimed new album Take It Like A Man. Be sure and catch her at the Amsterdam Bar on November 7!)

With no opening act, the eager crowd cheered loudly as the jumbo screen that serves as First Ave’s curtain began to rise about five minutes before the official show time of 8:30. William Tyler’s “The World Set Free” rang out over the house speakers and the anticipation built. Finally, right on time, Isbell and co. entered from stage right.

Five people stand in front of a wall with silver stars on it — Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit performed at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday, September 24, 2022.
Sara Fish for MPR

Isbell’s First Avenue edition Nike Dunks carried him to the mic, where he addressed the crowd in his charming drawl: “Howdy folks, it’s so good to see you all tonight. I’m Jason Isbell, and this is the 400 Unit. We got a star on the wall outside today, so we’re here to celebrate. There’s nowhere else we’d rather be tonight than right here.”

Kicking off their set with “It Gets Easier” off of 2020’s Reunions, it was immediately obvious that the crowd shared that sentiment.

As the set progressed, the band worked through hit after hit (“Something More Than Free,” “What’ve I Done to Help,” “Hope the High Road,” “Cumberland Gap”) before settling into a twang-tinged version of R.E.M.’s “Driver 8.” The cover appears on the 400 Unit’s 2021 release Georgia Blue, the result of Isbell’s election night tweet promising a covers album of Georgia artists if Biden won the historically red-leaning state.

Just a few songs into the set made it abundantly clear that Isbell and the 400 Unit’s star was long overdue and hard-earned. They sound like the seasoned pros that they are and handle themselves with the aplomb of a band who lives to be on stage. With the 400 Unit, there’s no elaborate stage production necessary, just pure talent and unabridged passion.

Isbell himself exhibits two essential qualities that make him an outstanding frontman. First, despite having top billing in the band’s name, the performance isn’t just about him. He does a phenomenal job of introducing each member of the 400 Unit by name multiple times during their set. By the show's end, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in the crowd not on a first-name basis with everyone on stage.

Those introductions aren’t done at random, either. Before particular songs, Isbell would call out one member by name. In the song that followed, the reason for the call-out became apparent: it was that specific member's moment to shine.

For Jimbo Hart, that callout meant an extended, dynamic bass solo in “What’ve I Done to Help.” For Derry DeBorja, it meant the deep, somber piano tones that perfectly complimented Isbell's heartbreaking voice and steady strumming during “Elephant.” For Chad Gamble, it was the steady, thundering drums in “Cover Me Up.”

And finally, for guitarist Sadler Vaden, it was every single solo along with his turn at lead vocals on Georgia Blue’s “Honeysuckle Blue,” a cover from Vaden’s former band Drivin’ N Cryin’. With a driving rhythm and a voice that channeled Tom Petty, Vaden no doubt made his former musical alma mater proud.

It’s worth noting that the studio versions of the 22-song, two-hour-and-ten-minute set add up to around an hour and a half. So what filled that extra 40 minutes? Unrelenting shredding. Throughout the evening, they took nearly every song off-script with extended virtuosic solos, extra bridges, and no shortage of style.

Isbell first entered the spotlight in 2001 when, at 22, he joined the Drive-By Truckers. His time with the band was marred by heavy alcohol and drug use, something he mentions briefly after covering the Truckers’ song “Outfit.”

“I’m told I played First Avenue with the Drive-By Truckers many times. And some of them were even good!”

A band performs on a stage lit in red — Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit performed at First Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday, September 24, 2022.
Sara Fish for MPR

Jokes aside, Isbell is sober now — something he chronicled at length on 2013’s Southeastern. And his fans are more than happy to support him in his sobriety. The final song of the evening’s main set, “Cover Me Up,” includes the line, "I sobered up, I swore off that stuff. Forever this time." As soon as “forever this time” left Isbell’s lips, the crowd erupted, cheering in a beautiful display of support not often seen regarding an artist’s personal struggles.

And that brings us to Isbell’s second big frontman characteristic: his relationship with his fans. His deeply personal lyrics draw the crowd into his life on and off the stage. They serve as an open book about his struggles with alcohol, the world, and, most often, himself. Each song is a snapshot of life’s many ups and down — loss, redemption, hardship, celebration, love — all spilled out on the stage for the crowd to find common ground with and relate to their own lives.

During the tragically heartfelt “If We Were Vampires,” the couples in the crowd held one another just a little bit closer. The grief-filled “Elephant” had every eye in the room a little misty, remembering lost loved ones. But despite the heaviness of much of the subject matter, the atmosphere at First Avenue on Saturday was that of pure celebration. The crowd danced and sang along to Isbell’s every word until the final note of the encore’s closer “Decoration Day” faded.

As the band put down their instruments and prepared to take their final bow at the front of the stage, Isbell retreated back to sit on the drum riser, where he took off those First Avenue edition Nikes. Sharpie in hand, he signed each one and tossed them into the crowd. After all, he doesn’t need the shoes now that his name’s on the wall.

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