Tedeschi Trucks Band
Doheny Blues Festival
Doheny State Beach
Dana Point, CA
May 18

Adjacent to the main stage at the Doheny Blues Festival was its International Food Court. Funnel cake and bacon-wrapped hot dogs shared real estate with Thai Chinese BBQ, Southern fried gator, gyros, and Kobe beef sliders- a wide variety of styles and cultures all represented under the umbrella of gastronomical delight. So, too, a delight of musical proportions that touched a variety of styles and cultures all under the banner of the blues was the appearance of Tedeschi Trucks Band in the late afternoon slot, Saturday’s penultimate to Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite.

“Doheny, are you going higher?” harmony singer Mark Rivers asked of the sun-baked crowd during set starter “Made Up Mind,” the soul-infused title track from the forthcoming studio album due August 27. If the audience was to go higher, it would first have to rise from its beach chairs, of which thousands dotted the lawn of Doheny, a beachside state park in Orange County’s Dana Point. Rise it did, as the 11-piece wrecking crew rumbled through the Elmore James rendition of “Rollin’ and Tumblin,” only to gravitate back with “It’s So Heavy,” another new composition, this one a moving ballad inspired by the tragic events of Newtown and sung beautifully by Susan Tedeschi.

Possibly needing an emotional re-set, Tedeschi sat out the next number, a Derek Trucks Band throwback, “I Know,” fronted by harmony singer Mike Mattison. Over a slight second line groove from drumming duo Tyler Greenwell and J.J. Johnson, trumpeter Maurice Brown soared. “Midnight in Harlem,” a neo-classic from the group’s Revelator debut, displayed the ensemble’s unique ability to be a vehicle for great songwriting one minute and a flourish of improvised crescendo the next. Dressed in black long sleeves, perhaps to run even hotter, guitarist Derek Trucks slide solo began in near silence and built in waves to a screaming, full-body climax. Damn the laid back SoCal clichés, the audience stood as one and roared.

Another new one, “Misunderstood,” sweated ‘70s funk held in check by current guest bassist Bakithi Kumalo while “Bound For Glory” turned out a blazing clav solo from Kofi Burbridge that, had there been a roof, would have blown it off. Post-war blues returned with Susan and Derek dueling on “The Sky is Crying,” before the exotic, liberating world music vibe of “Mahjoun” gave Burbridge room to flutter and stutter his flute/scat opening run, injected with several vocal cries of ‘Orange County!’ in between notes, giving way to a free-jazz sax workout from Kebbi Williams. “That Did It,” guided the ship to familiar 12-bar waters, then off to “Angel in Montgomery,” the John Prine Americana folk/country ballad achingly delivered by Tedeschi, that drifted gently and briefly into the Grateful Dead’s “Sugaree.” Some tambourine-shaking soul, some barrelhouse blues, and after 90 minutes, it was another dazzling display by arguably the best live band in the country.

By demonstrating the skill and desire to remove any sonic and descriptive limitations from its music, Tedeschi Trucks Band revels in taking risks. While more than capable of providing a blues festival crowd with a steady diet of the genre, this assemblage of artists instead broadened and breached, offering new ways to expand the palette and feed the soul. For a unit only a few years, and soon three albums, into its existence, its future is very appetizing.