Derek Trucks and his wife, Susan Tedeschi, have released their first album, Revelator, and are out on the road promoting their unique brand of music. On August 28^th, the 11-piece band took the stage at the legendary Cotillion Ballroom and blew the nearly capacity crowd away. Before their show began, however, the crowd was treated to an eclectic set of music from the band ScrapOmatic, featuring guitarist Paul Olsen and vocalist Mike Mattison.

Mattison, whose day jobs include being the lead vocalist for the Derek Trucks Band, and backup vocalist for Tedeschi-Trucks, is a truly unique singer with an amazing voice. ScrapOmatic, a two-man band, for the most part, were joined on guitar by Susan Tedeschi’s guitarist Dave Yoke. For part of the set, the band was joined by Tyler “The Falcon” Greenwell on drums, as well. The band is actually quite fun, as they mix original tunes with blues standards. One would love to hear Mattison do a bluesy take on the classic Louie Armstrong tune “What a Wonderful World.”

The main event, however, was Tedeschi-Trucks and the reception they received by simply stepping onstage, before playing nary a note, showed the band that Wichita was welcoming them with open arms. Susan Tedeschi is not only an amazing vocalist, she can handle about any pentatonic blues run on guitar, as she proved in the opening number, “Comin’ Home.” The tune opened up with some massive keyboard riffage by Kofi Burbridge, who put out enough soul to get the midwestern crowd dancing and throwing their hands in the air.

Tedeschi, then, silenced the crowd with a spellbinding performance of “Midnight in Harlem” off the new album. Throughout the evening, it was clear she was having an allergy attack, perhaps brought on by the damp and moldy old venue. Despite a few in between song coughs, and having to sneak in several wipes of her nose, Tedeschi performed at a level few singers can hope to realize. Did I mention she is also damn cute? Sorry Derek, no disrespect intended, but suffice it to say that you’re one lucky man!

The band kept the crowd grooving steady through “Don’t Let Me Slide” and “Space Captain” before Trucks and Tedeschi, along with some vocal assistance from Mattison, tore up the Beatles classic “I’ve Got a Feelin’” from their 1969 classic Let It Be album. This was one of the top musical points of the evening, however, the game was soon upped as bassist Oteil Burbridge took over the microphone for the Jimi Hendrix classic “Manic Depression.” The bass player’s fingers glided along his six-string bass, as Trucks jammed till his heart’s content throughout the entire tune.

One thing that is immediately noticeable about this band is that everyone onstage, from the stars of the show, to the background vocalists, gets their time to shine. Every member of the band is very accomplished as a player, as well as being masters of improvisation. The band often bring the song to a climax and then, when you’re sure they can take it no higher, they push the boundaries and take it to that special place that has no description. It is the place where music becomes spiritual and the result, on both musician and audience, is one of true elation.

Before the song “Bound For Glory” Susan dedicated the song to a woman who had lost her husband that, before his untimely demise, had purchased tickets to the concert. It was a touching moment and really showed how much class this band has. The final song of the main set was the Sly and the Family Stone epic “I Want to Take You Higher” and the band put 110% into this song. Trumpet player Maurice Brown, felt the music and could not help dancing to the beat and grooving to the music. Saxophonist Kebbi Williams and Trombone player Saunders Sermons felt his excitement and the horn section put on a show that drew several cheers from the crowd.

The band returned for a two-song encore, the first being the subdued “Shelter.” The band, once again, took it up a notch as they closed with the spirited “Love Has Something Else to Say.” Tedeschi-Trucks got everyone involved in this song and the entire band threw down and jammed, bringing a perfect evening of music to a close.

Tedeschi-Trucks is, simply, an amazing live band. These guys know what they are doing and they understand what they are capable of, yet they continue to push each other, and the music, to new heights. They’re a hard band to put into a genre as well, as at times they are a jam band, and other times a jazz band, a soul band, a rock band and a blues band. The fact that they are able to meld so many styles of music into one show, along with their willingness to allow each other to shine, puts them in a special class. On this night, Tedeschi-Trucks could do no wrong, leaving the crowd wanting more, yet satisfied when it came time to retreat to the parking lot for the drive home.

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