Sarah Shook & The Disarmers returned to Mississippi Studios in Portland and proved good as gold.

Sarah Shook & The Disarmers
Live at Mississippi Studios
Porltand, OR, USA
7-24-18

By Mike Lee

Followers of That Much Further West Podcast are probably already well aware that we (and I in particular) are big fans of the music of Sarah Shook & The Disarmers. We’ve included several songs from the band’s two albums on our podcast playlists, promoted the band’s video releases, and I even wrote a glowing review for their latest album, Years.

Last September, I went to see Sarah Shook & The Disarmers at their first show in Portland at Mississippi Studios with much anticipation after several spins of their excellent debut record, Sidelong. I left the show, well let’s say, disappointed. The band was great and they played the songs with precision and very true to the album versions, but the problem was a lack of energy. The show was flat, and for an old punk rocker like me, I need to get something, anything, from the band to be able to reciprocate, or else all that whiskey I consumed would go to waste (sort of). I still bought the vinyl and a trucker hat and went about my night.

Fast forward to July 2018, and again I find myself anticipating (with some reservations) another performance by Sarah Shook, this time at last weekend’s Wildwood MusicFest. Again the band was great, but this time the energy was on point and solidified in my mind the need to go see the band three days later at our original rendezvous point, Mississippi Studios.

My how things have changed. The crowd was eager and enthusiastic and easily three times the size of the show way back in September, and on a Tuesday night no less. The band’s lineup was the same except for a drummer who had been replaced by Kevin McClain (ex-American Aquarium), and they were ready to go when Shook took the stage, strapped on her guitar and walked to the microphone.

With her long hair hanging in front of her face, Sarah shared some playful banter with the crowd before they launched into the first song off of Years, “Good As Gold.” The band played two more songs, and then it happened again — Sarah took to the mic and engaged the crowd! She was funny, charming and exuded all the swagger her music projects. I was hooked. The crowd was dancing and singing along and it all felt so good.

With the energy flowing from the stage to the crowd and back, the band was tight and continued to set the songs up to showcase Sarah’s lyrics and vocals, the real star of the show. Over the next 90 minutes or so, Sarah joked with the band and guided the crowd through 21 songs and punctuated the encore with “The Nail,” a great song from the debut album. The crowd was cheering, hooting and hollering for more as the band slipped behind the closing curtain for the night.

Set List:
Good As Gold
Heal Me
Parting Words
Fuck Up
No Name
Over You
Road That Leads To You
Nothin’ Feels Right But Doin’ Wrong
Make It Up To Mama
Lesson
Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don’t
Heartache In Hell
Keep The Home Fires Burning
Sidelong
The Bottle Lets Me Down
Misery Without Company
New Ways To Fail
Years
What It Takes
Encore:
Dwight Yoakam
The Nail