It was 50 minutes into the Truth & Salvage Co. concert Thursday night that the band, in the midst of a bang-bang-bang succession of songs from their upcoming self-titled album, leapt, without a bit of irony, into a cover of The Band’s “The Shape I’m In”.
The group, six guys who joined together in LA, though none from there, decided to reach into the songbook of the one band — The Band — that is so obvious of an influence, that by playing the song, Truth & Salvage Co. gave a wink to those who thought they might not want to hear the comparison.
They had been building up to some sort of musical climax. Within each song, and from one song to the next, they piled harmony upon four-part harmony, two guitars, drums, electric piano and Adam Grace’s thrilling and spiritual Hammond B3 on live versions of nearly every cut on the new album, due out May 25.
With abandon and smiles, the happy gang of six jumped, hopped, sang and looked at each other like they had found the magic. They took the great original version and gave it a shot of Midwest spark, something they did routinely during the 70-minute show.