Hot, nasty, rhythm-heavy white boys with a little flute thrown in for good measure. That’s southern rock in a nutshell. It’s also the easiest way to describe the Marshall Tucker Band. A staple act during the hey-day of southern rock, sharing stages with the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the boys from Spartanburg, SC are entering their fourth decade of redneck jams. And while most of the faces have changed (RIP Toy and Tommy Caldwell), the tunes were still fresh and anthemic when the legendary band rolled through Shakori on its opening Thursday night.
Doug Gray, the original vocalist, gave some pretty young audience members free tambourine lessons on stage, while Marcus Henderson wailed with equal passion on both his flute and his sax. They played all their biggest hits, most of which aren’t nearly as well-known today as they should be, such as “Fire on the Mountain,” “Heard it in a Love Song,” and my personal favorite, “Take the Highway.” And of course they couldn’t forget “Can’t You See,” taking turns singing the stanzas to one of the best songs of the last 50 years, in any genre and from any part of the country.
Photos and text by Jonathan Pattishall
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