His voice is just something else. He can go from the most tender ballad (like the absolutely stunning "Whiskey and You" that he did last night, or the excellent "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore," that he sadly didn't include in his set) to a soulful jam like "Broken Halos" or "Traveller" to the most raucous barnburning rocker like "Nobody to Blame" or "Might as Well Get Stoned." He can do a fine falsetto, a powerful, soulful tenor, and drop it down into baritone when needed. I just feel like all the emotions are packed right into that voice. I must have shown my wife the goosebumps on my arms 5 times last night.
Surprisingly, his guitar work is damn good as well. At one point, one of his solos got me to thinking about Stevie Ray Vaughan. I mean, his playing on the albums is fine, but damn, when you watch him peeling notes from the strings with all the love and soulful soft touch in the world, I mean, he can jam. And shred as well, they got into a jam circle at one point that was pretty legit. He literally switched guitars between every single tune, and one of the friends I had brought with me was geeking out in a major way, talking about how rare it was to see a Jazzmaster being played like that, or how it was rare for a Telecaster to have a black head, or OMG a hollowbody (something-or-other, I dunno, he got real excited). The band was super basic, just drums, bass, and Stapleton handling lead vocals and guitar, but they were strong as hell. He also had his wife up there singing the harmonies with him, and she was just endearing as can be, watching him do his thing and joining in to accent the vocals. So lovely (I just wish her mike had been turned up a touch higher).
My only other beef with the entire show was how businesslike Stapleton was. Other than saying "Thanks" or "Maybe I should move to Austin," he pretty much said nothing. Never introduced his band or his wife. Never mentioned that he has a new album coming out soon. He did respond to a big woohoo! that came from the upper decks at one point, but generally, he just charged forward into the next track and then said thanks. Which, on one hand, I respect because some bands can talk too damn much from the stage. But on the other hand, a little bit of banter and humanization is very cool at the ACL tapings.
I'm really wishing, right about now, that I had scored tickets for his show out at the Circuit of the Americas on Thursday night. I'd totally go back and see him do it all over again. If you get a chance to see him, you should do it.
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