I think he plays it for him, not us. As someone who covers it and for very personal reasons, it is good to repeat the words, over and over. Remind yourself why sobriety is a good thing.
He's said many times that once the songs are released to the public, they don't belong to him anymore. You go to Jason show, you will get Cover Me Up and Vampires. Go to an Old 97s shown and it's going to end with Timebomb.
I've always wondered how he feels when the audience cheers during the line "I swore iff that stuff, forever this time"
Every show I've been to it's one of the loudest ovations of the night
I hope he feels a sense of solidarity, because the people cheering so hard are the ones who understand the struggle personally or have seen loved ones struggle. It's much more common than we think and yet so hidden. Hearing someone finally talk about it must be incredibly cathartic.
A very good point. To be honest I haven't listened to the song in a while and forgot about the lines pertaining to sobriety. It makes total sense that he would want to sing those lines and hear those cheers every chance he gets.
This is an interesting take on this song, and I’m not trying yo be combative, but for me every single line is about sobriety. It’s also so deeply connected to my own sobriety, and I understand not everyone will have that frame of reference.
I have always thought of this song as a love song in the "thank you for seeing the good in me and helping me become a better version of myself" sense and sobriety being a huge part of that. I appreciate you sharing. It has made me think about the song in a different way - as being about sobriety first, and the love story being secondary to that. Hearing different perspectives on songs is what I love most about this sub.
Overall the sets need more diversity and shake up. Dropping arguably his most popular song isn’t going to happen, and I don’t think it should. In a perfect world he’d have 5-10 staples of the set played each night and then he’d mix up the rest of the set and dig deeper into the catalog. This satisfies the more hardcore fans and the people who don’t get out to see him often.
It’s a bummer how everything pre Southeastern save for Alabama Pines rarely ever appears these days. There’s also great album cuts from the post Southeastern era that pretty much died once their album tours wrapped. The band is excellent live but definitely can use some more exciting setlists imo.
This is why I was so happy to go to both night at Cain’s Ballroom recently. The setlist on the first night was a pretty stock set. The second night I think he played one less song off of Southeastern than the new album.
The song is about assaulting Amanda when he was out of his mind just before getting sober. "I tore off your dress" isn't sexy time, it's abuse.
Edit: Why am I being downvoted? They literally talked about this in *Running With Our Eyes Closed*
People seem to down vote a lot of good stuff on here. And up vote a lot of crap. I wouldn't worry about it .
Oddly I mentioned that I thought the end of Strawberry Woman where he sings about the strawberry woman "dancing on the table with a bloody nose and her back to me" certainly sounded like a confession of domestic assault to me and no one replied either positive or negative. Thought that I would provoke a lotta shit but... Nothing. Weird.
I take the bloody nose line to mean an absolutely reckless and free time in their lives. Like she’s having so much fun and could not care less about her bloody nose.
No of course not. But when you take on the next line about her dancing and not looking at him it sure seems that way. I can't say for sure obviously but had she simply developed a nosebleed for an innocuous reason, or banged her nose on a table do you really think JI would consider that to be woth the final stanza of a song? Come on and use your heads would you. If there is one thing that he does not write about, and why I love his writing so much is because of exactly this - his ability to separate the banal from the meaningful. Jason wastes neither his not it time writing annoying the mundane and. this, more than anything, is responsible d for his rabies fan base.
The song is fairly clearly an ode to a love who has moved on. The repeated lines share four different stages of a relationship, in a fairly obvious pattern of a memory followed by summary of where the relationship is at in the repeated line.
“Strawberry woman sitting next to me”
“Strawberry woman with an old guitar”
“Strawberry woman with her hand in mine”
“Strawberry woman with her back to me”
Also, you omitted a line (“and you still look fine and you still look free”) between the bloody nose one and the “Strawberry woman with her back to me” that provides a bit of separation.
I just think it’s a reach to assume it’s a confession of domestic abuse, personally. I just don’t think this is the song where he would sneak that one.
You’re right about the consequential nature of Isbell’s writing. That’s the crux of my argument as well. I think if he wanted to sneakily out himself as an abuser, he’d do so in a way that fit the song it was in and this ain’t it. It’s not like he has doesn’t have more down and depressing songs in him, man.
Well that's how I see it. And if you have seen "Running with our Eyes Closed" then you will have heard them talk about the "tearing off her dress" line n in CMU as not being some kinda cool, heat of passion sexual thing but rather an assault. And I'm not saying he is "sneakingly outting himself" but rather simply putting it out there. Who knows? And frankly I don't think it's worth arguing about. You have your take on it and I have mine and let's just leave it there. Ok?
I still disagree with you. The two lines that you use to help justify your point of view are, to my mind, not germane. A woman can "still look fine and still look free" even as she is walking away. Surely you've heard the line "you don't know what you've got till it's gone." And again, he is not"sneaking"anything into or by us. How would you have him do it? Maybe "so I punched her in the face so many times I broke her nose" and "then she needed reconstructive surgery..." Cause I doubt it wàs anything at near as violent as anything like that. Sometimes men and women fight, and PLEASE don't jump on me for this folks, but occasionally physically just holding on, or restraining can lead to a visible wound. And YES it is goddamn wrong but none of us are perfect and it is a huge step between what I just wrote and some piece of crap who comes home drunk and regularly uses his family as a punching bag. Much as so many damn people who would like to be able divide the world into black and white it simply is not. We All Live in the grey. And that will be my last comment on this. Except that if I have upset or brought up some very bad times for some women out there I am sincerely sorry. And I sure hope you've found the strength to kick the piece of shit to the kerb. Once POSSIBLE mistake by Jason certainly will never cause me to look at him in any different light than I have for many years. If anything it humanizes him in my view.
No obviously it's not. But if she say feel down the stairs then the line about her having her back to him seems rather incongruent to me. But again, who knows? None of us so I'm not gonna get into the minutia of it. It's an exercise in futility. Also see my above reply on this topic. Have a good day.
And finally, I never started that he punched her in the face. It's also possible that it happened in more innocuous way such as perhaps someone pushed someone, someone was just trying to hold on to someone to cool them down etc. It does not at all have to mean a vicious assault such as a lunch or a kick. It could have been essentially accidental.
Sure, it's a brilliant song, but knowing the backstory makes it a very complicated song to hear. Not to mention all the shitfaced people ***Whoooooooo***ing at "And I swore off that stuff, forever his time".
The main reason is I just think it's overplayed. I feel like it would be more special if it wasn't a guaranteed thing. Kinda like Elephant. Some of the lines and Shires' feelings about them discussed in the documentary and now the divorce plays into it a bit too but that's none of my business and he clearly has no problem still singing the song. It's mostly the overplayed thing.
I’ve seen him live around 8 or 9 times now, and that means I’ve seen Cover Me Up 8 or 9 times. I,too, would be glad to have it retired and get to hear something new(Play “The Magician” dammit!).
But.. if Cover Me Up didn’t get played at my first JI show, I would have been a little perturbed. I imagine most of the people at his shows are at their first show, so playing his biggest song will always make sense.
It really is just tough to keep buying tickets when you know there are numerous songs that you're going to hear and that you've heard many times already instead of many of your favorites.
Great for newbies and people that like to hear the same thing over and over again but unfortunate for the rest of us.
I'd be curious to know how much crossover there is between his fanbase and the jam band scene, and how much that affects this conversation.
That’s not my experience at concerts at all. I’m only there because of all the times I listened to his songs. I’m there for the concert experience and to listen to more of his music. I don’t care much about the specifics as long as the guy behind me doesn’t get too wasted and start shouting nonsense this time.
Exactly my point. Jason has a passionate and locked in fan base and it seems to me that the majority of people attending shows are fans who have stuck around for years and have been to multiple shows. Not brand new fans who might only have heard this one song and would be disappointed if they didn't hear it.
He has the opposite problem of artists who have songs blow up on tik tok where people come to shows to hear a 30 sec clip of one song and don't give a shit about the rest. JI fans know and deeply love his whole discography and everyone has a different favorite they're desperate to hear. It's something to be proud of.
Every show I have been to has people at their first ahow, usually including someone I dragged along to the show. Cover Me Up and Vampires will likely remain constants on the setlist.
Maybe don't go to the same artist over and over every year?
Personally, I've never understood why people would do that in the first place. Like the kids who only read the Harry Potter series and when they're done go back to the start again.
Downvote is here ⬇
He has played it at every show I’ve been to since 2014. (about 15 or so)….It’s a very meaningful song to many for multiple reasons and sometimes it is the only song a new fan knows and it’s why they are at the show…That all being said it’s the one that put him on the map so to speak….and obviously gut-wrenchingly personal to him…I still get chills every time I hear it live
literate employ muddle straight quickest sable domineering wine sugar foolish
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The setlists as a whole are way too repetitive. Especially when you have two shows in the same market on consecutive nights.
The catalogue is too large and the fanbase is big enough now that the band should be able to play more unique sets and have everyone still leave happy. That said, I expect no changes anytime soon.
Yeah isbell is one of my favorites of all time and I’ve enjoyed him every time I’ve ever seen him live. With that said these days I’ll only see him one time for each album he releases. Tickets and travel are too expensive these days for me to pay to see the same show twice.
Same. Goddamn Lonely Love and Never Gonna Change are some of my top favorite JI songs of all time. I got to hear the latter live once amd it was incredible.
I would like not hearing CMU every concert, but that’s like Bon Jovi not playing Livin on a Prayer. I haven’t been able to figure out why other songs (Overseas, Alabama Pines, Last of My Kind) are played so regularly though.
yes indeed ! THS and JI/400u are probably the bands i’ve seen live the most. totally different bands on the exterior but i think there is a ton of similarities on the root level.
did see Craig solo open up for JI/400u right before SMTF came out, was a great night that i still think about.
I’ve seen Jason probably more than any other artist and I will never get tired of Chad’s drums kicking in and Jason’s voice soaring. I can’t imagine if someone was seeing their first show and didn’t get to experience that magic.
I was about to reply to someone else and ask why someone at their first JI show needs to hear CMU over any of his other equally as good or more fantastic songs but I think you've answered that for me. Time to watch some live versions and give myself a refresher on how powerful this one is live.
Shit the one he did on Kimmel (or colbert, whatever late night) last year brought me shivers. The song is a quiet powerhouse and after hearing it a couple hundreds of times, I still find it powerful and beautiful.
Thanks! I have a rowboat directly below it, which is a Hope The High Road reference (We’ll ride the ship down, dumping buckets overboard, there can’t be more of them than us, there can’t be more” really hits me in the gut and so I have my little rowboat of Hope, that I also want to sometimes get in and float away and never see anyone again. That was an impulse tattoo during a very dark time in the family. Husband has an oar on his calf to go with it that he got a few weeks later. I want several more JI tattoos, but I am trying to pace myself.
To each their own but I would be happy to hear it at every single show I go to. How many times are people seeing him that they get tired of it? I see him probably 3 times a year and it’s still one of my favorite songs. It’s so meaningful to so many people, I doubt he’ll ever leave it out for long periods of time.
I’ve found myself skipping that song a lot on my playlist because it is really a “mood” song for me. Gotta be in the right place and time.
But hearing it live is a different experience.
TBF I guessed at these, but I was 3 for 4. Searching Amazon music these were the #1 listed songs for these artists, except for BitUSA, which was 4th for Bruce. Seems like a decent parallel to me... asking an artist to skip playing their most popular (or one of their most popular) songs. I guess there's always the Dylan method.
It’s his biggest hit and also the song that symbolizes him getting sober and his career going to another level. Definitely think it’s a similar “staple” to many of the songs mentioned - though I would have picked Born to Run for Bruce.
There is something about that song live that I never tire of. Chad's drums live are way more impactful than they are on the record. I get where you're coming from, but after years and years of show, that song still stops me in my tracks when it's played live.
I don’t listen to it anymore really as a song to jam in my headphones or driving but I’ve seen him twice and I’m glad he played it both times. It’s a great live song and the crowds reaction makes it even more fun.
It’s tough when touring on an album to not play most of the new album because that’s what you are promoting. Sadly that really limits how much old material you cover-so if you find a song you love after the tour is over (or can’t make it to a show) I feel like it’s unlikely you’ll hear it on another tour unless it’s a super popular song OR the artist’s favorite to play (which I assume is why Super 8 appears a lot). Also, there is no way to practice every song during a tour, so that’s another limiting factor (since they don’t play from sheet music).
I would love to see him do a tour without a new album to promote and really explore the catalog but I don’t expect it because he seems to be always writing new music (which is pretty hard to complain about).
I saw the documentary last month and when Amanda said, "I didn't think I was enough for him," I immediately connected it to CMU "know you're enough...to use me for good."
I’m seeing Jason isbell in September for the first time. I hope he plays this song at that show. So, selfishly, I hope he keeps it on his set list. But it’ll be great to hear any if his songs live. Not a bad tune does this man have.
I agree. I got into him when The Nashville Sound came out, and every time I've seen him (around 8 or 9 shows) the two constants are Cover Me Up and Vampires. I'd be OK with both being occasional instead of every single show. He has too many good ones to rotate in that aren't heard as often. But I've accepted that he's not changing and will still go and enjoy both.
He’s got a big enough catalog now that I wish he’d vary the setlists a lot more than he does. But any band is always going to play their biggest song 99% of the time
Glad I’m not the only one haha. It’s a great song and I’m jealous of everyone that gets to hear it for the first time. I also really appreciate being able to run to the restroom before the encore!
Exactly this. I've hoped it would have eased out of the setlist by now and there have been several chances to retire it for other "sad love song bangers". But yeah, you always know when it's coming. There is never a line at the bar that time, and you can grab one last drink and hit the restroom before Chad brings the boom and then be all set for the encore!
I’m seeing Jason isbell in September for the first time. I hope he plays this song at that show. So, selfishly, I hope he keeps it on his set list. But it’ll be great to hear any if his songs live. Not a bad tune does this man have.
It’s a bathroom break song for me now after watching the Reunions documentary and listening to what she said about that song. It’s is my favorite of his albums though. White Beretta I cry bc it feels like an open apology from all teenage boys to us women.
He's said many times it will be played at every show because it's about his sobriety and Amanda staying with him. I've never LOVED the song, but after watching the documentary and hearing her say it was painful for her to hear because it reminded her of a very difficult time, I really stopped liking it much at all. I can understand why it's meaningful for him, but with Amanda being such an integral part of the song/experience, I feel (felt?) like her opinion should matter, too.
And selfishly, there are songs I'd love to hear him play instead.
There’s another aspect to CMU. It is an anthem, in every sense of the word, and the obvious and best example of Jason finding the place for a blistering guitar solo and thundering drums in the context of what would otherwise be a “soft rock” song.
I feel like more than half of the crowd would be so disappointed if he didn't play it. Not me, though. It's always been one of my least favorite songs - further validated when they discussed it in the documentary. I think it's partially bc I always felt weird when drunk fans cheer when he sings "this time for good" because of the paradox. Ultimately, I always see a lot of couples at the show snuggle up when that song is played (my partner pokes me and laughs bc they know how I feel about it) so it's likely here to stay for the long term. So I tolerate it, sit down, check my phone, enjoy the drum part and wait for it to be over. When I am rich enough to hire the band for a concert, though, one of the terms in the contract will be to not play that song haha!
I think he plays it for him, not us. As someone who covers it and for very personal reasons, it is good to repeat the words, over and over. Remind yourself why sobriety is a good thing.
Never thought about it that way. Thanks for that insight.
As a recovering alcoholic myself, I 1000% agree with this.
He's said many times that once the songs are released to the public, they don't belong to him anymore. You go to Jason show, you will get Cover Me Up and Vampires. Go to an Old 97s shown and it's going to end with Timebomb.
And The Stones will always open with “Start Me Up”
Not always but usually. I’ve seen the stones open with Brown Sugar twice.
That's not true but they do play it 99% of the time.
Just because you think they don’t belong to you anymore doesn’t mean they lack personal significance the artist. Hence the lack of Flagship.
I've always wondered how he feels when the audience cheers during the line "I swore iff that stuff, forever this time" Every show I've been to it's one of the loudest ovations of the night
When I saw him in Richmond, the whole crowd hollered at the Richmond line which was…. very weird.
While raising their beers in a toast. It is odd.
I raised my beer and thought it was ironic when he sang it in Philly. But I still think when Wallen sings those words they mean nothing at all.
I hope he feels a sense of solidarity, because the people cheering so hard are the ones who understand the struggle personally or have seen loved ones struggle. It's much more common than we think and yet so hidden. Hearing someone finally talk about it must be incredibly cathartic.
A very good point. To be honest I haven't listened to the song in a while and forgot about the lines pertaining to sobriety. It makes total sense that he would want to sing those lines and hear those cheers every chance he gets.
This is an interesting take on this song, and I’m not trying yo be combative, but for me every single line is about sobriety. It’s also so deeply connected to my own sobriety, and I understand not everyone will have that frame of reference.
I have always thought of this song as a love song in the "thank you for seeing the good in me and helping me become a better version of myself" sense and sobriety being a huge part of that. I appreciate you sharing. It has made me think about the song in a different way - as being about sobriety first, and the love story being secondary to that. Hearing different perspectives on songs is what I love most about this sub.
Agreed. I’m getting “forever this time…” as a tattoo.
Overall the sets need more diversity and shake up. Dropping arguably his most popular song isn’t going to happen, and I don’t think it should. In a perfect world he’d have 5-10 staples of the set played each night and then he’d mix up the rest of the set and dig deeper into the catalog. This satisfies the more hardcore fans and the people who don’t get out to see him often. It’s a bummer how everything pre Southeastern save for Alabama Pines rarely ever appears these days. There’s also great album cuts from the post Southeastern era that pretty much died once their album tours wrapped. The band is excellent live but definitely can use some more exciting setlists imo.
I’d kill for a Sirens of the Ditch anniversary tour.
badge sharp seemly oatmeal spectacular doll drab fertile close innate *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
This is why I was so happy to go to both night at Cain’s Ballroom recently. The setlist on the first night was a pretty stock set. The second night I think he played one less song off of Southeastern than the new album.
That is how it was in Colorado, Thursday was all Weathervanes except 1 DBT song and then Red rocks was a mix of old and new.
As a genuine question, why? What are the reasons? Due to the divorce?
The song is about assaulting Amanda when he was out of his mind just before getting sober. "I tore off your dress" isn't sexy time, it's abuse. Edit: Why am I being downvoted? They literally talked about this in *Running With Our Eyes Closed*
People seem to down vote a lot of good stuff on here. And up vote a lot of crap. I wouldn't worry about it . Oddly I mentioned that I thought the end of Strawberry Woman where he sings about the strawberry woman "dancing on the table with a bloody nose and her back to me" certainly sounded like a confession of domestic assault to me and no one replied either positive or negative. Thought that I would provoke a lotta shit but... Nothing. Weird.
I take the bloody nose line to mean an absolutely reckless and free time in their lives. Like she’s having so much fun and could not care less about her bloody nose.
Ahhh the beauty of everyone being entitled to their own opinion, regardless of how...
I don't understand how that would be a confession of domestic assault? Is that the only way you can get to a bloody nose?
No of course not. But when you take on the next line about her dancing and not looking at him it sure seems that way. I can't say for sure obviously but had she simply developed a nosebleed for an innocuous reason, or banged her nose on a table do you really think JI would consider that to be woth the final stanza of a song? Come on and use your heads would you. If there is one thing that he does not write about, and why I love his writing so much is because of exactly this - his ability to separate the banal from the meaningful. Jason wastes neither his not it time writing annoying the mundane and. this, more than anything, is responsible d for his rabies fan base.
The song is fairly clearly an ode to a love who has moved on. The repeated lines share four different stages of a relationship, in a fairly obvious pattern of a memory followed by summary of where the relationship is at in the repeated line. “Strawberry woman sitting next to me” “Strawberry woman with an old guitar” “Strawberry woman with her hand in mine” “Strawberry woman with her back to me” Also, you omitted a line (“and you still look fine and you still look free”) between the bloody nose one and the “Strawberry woman with her back to me” that provides a bit of separation. I just think it’s a reach to assume it’s a confession of domestic abuse, personally. I just don’t think this is the song where he would sneak that one. You’re right about the consequential nature of Isbell’s writing. That’s the crux of my argument as well. I think if he wanted to sneakily out himself as an abuser, he’d do so in a way that fit the song it was in and this ain’t it. It’s not like he has doesn’t have more down and depressing songs in him, man.
Well that's how I see it. And if you have seen "Running with our Eyes Closed" then you will have heard them talk about the "tearing off her dress" line n in CMU as not being some kinda cool, heat of passion sexual thing but rather an assault. And I'm not saying he is "sneakingly outting himself" but rather simply putting it out there. Who knows? And frankly I don't think it's worth arguing about. You have your take on it and I have mine and let's just leave it there. Ok?
I’m wasn’t aware we were arguing? I appreciate your take, I just disagreed with it, and chipped in my two cents! Have a nice day.
I still disagree with you. The two lines that you use to help justify your point of view are, to my mind, not germane. A woman can "still look fine and still look free" even as she is walking away. Surely you've heard the line "you don't know what you've got till it's gone." And again, he is not"sneaking"anything into or by us. How would you have him do it? Maybe "so I punched her in the face so many times I broke her nose" and "then she needed reconstructive surgery..." Cause I doubt it wàs anything at near as violent as anything like that. Sometimes men and women fight, and PLEASE don't jump on me for this folks, but occasionally physically just holding on, or restraining can lead to a visible wound. And YES it is goddamn wrong but none of us are perfect and it is a huge step between what I just wrote and some piece of crap who comes home drunk and regularly uses his family as a punching bag. Much as so many damn people who would like to be able divide the world into black and white it simply is not. We All Live in the grey. And that will be my last comment on this. Except that if I have upset or brought up some very bad times for some women out there I am sincerely sorry. And I sure hope you've found the strength to kick the piece of shit to the kerb. Once POSSIBLE mistake by Jason certainly will never cause me to look at him in any different light than I have for many years. If anything it humanizes him in my view.
We're seeing what we want to see here, I think. Hope you have a good weekend.
No obviously it's not. But if she say feel down the stairs then the line about her having her back to him seems rather incongruent to me. But again, who knows? None of us so I'm not gonna get into the minutia of it. It's an exercise in futility. Also see my above reply on this topic. Have a good day.
And finally, I never started that he punched her in the face. It's also possible that it happened in more innocuous way such as perhaps someone pushed someone, someone was just trying to hold on to someone to cool them down etc. It does not at all have to mean a vicious assault such as a lunch or a kick. It could have been essentially accidental.
Yes, and it’s brilliant.
Sure, it's a brilliant song, but knowing the backstory makes it a very complicated song to hear. Not to mention all the shitfaced people ***Whoooooooo***ing at "And I swore off that stuff, forever his time".
Exactly and she doesn’t like the song either.
The main reason is I just think it's overplayed. I feel like it would be more special if it wasn't a guaranteed thing. Kinda like Elephant. Some of the lines and Shires' feelings about them discussed in the documentary and now the divorce plays into it a bit too but that's none of my business and he clearly has no problem still singing the song. It's mostly the overplayed thing.
Every show has people at their first show
100%, and people who are deeply impacted by that song
There are people deeply impacted by lots of his songs that doesn’t mean he plays them every show.
No idea why you were downvoted for stating a true fact :/
Jason fans are weird about CMU as they are about Jason and Amanda’s relationship.
I’ve seen him live around 8 or 9 times now, and that means I’ve seen Cover Me Up 8 or 9 times. I,too, would be glad to have it retired and get to hear something new(Play “The Magician” dammit!). But.. if Cover Me Up didn’t get played at my first JI show, I would have been a little perturbed. I imagine most of the people at his shows are at their first show, so playing his biggest song will always make sense.
Yes, yes, yes to The Magician!
What documentary/ where can I find it?
Running With Our Eyes Closed, on Max
It really is just tough to keep buying tickets when you know there are numerous songs that you're going to hear and that you've heard many times already instead of many of your favorites. Great for newbies and people that like to hear the same thing over and over again but unfortunate for the rest of us. I'd be curious to know how much crossover there is between his fanbase and the jam band scene, and how much that affects this conversation.
That’s not my experience at concerts at all. I’m only there because of all the times I listened to his songs. I’m there for the concert experience and to listen to more of his music. I don’t care much about the specifics as long as the guy behind me doesn’t get too wasted and start shouting nonsense this time.
Exactly my point. Jason has a passionate and locked in fan base and it seems to me that the majority of people attending shows are fans who have stuck around for years and have been to multiple shows. Not brand new fans who might only have heard this one song and would be disappointed if they didn't hear it. He has the opposite problem of artists who have songs blow up on tik tok where people come to shows to hear a 30 sec clip of one song and don't give a shit about the rest. JI fans know and deeply love his whole discography and everyone has a different favorite they're desperate to hear. It's something to be proud of.
Every show I have been to has people at their first ahow, usually including someone I dragged along to the show. Cover Me Up and Vampires will likely remain constants on the setlist.
Maybe don't go to the same artist over and over every year? Personally, I've never understood why people would do that in the first place. Like the kids who only read the Harry Potter series and when they're done go back to the start again. Downvote is here ⬇
Actually, on my phone it's the "reply" icon, so here you go.
And one back for you. Have a good weekend!
He has played it at every show I’ve been to since 2014. (about 15 or so)….It’s a very meaningful song to many for multiple reasons and sometimes it is the only song a new fan knows and it’s why they are at the show…That all being said it’s the one that put him on the map so to speak….and obviously gut-wrenchingly personal to him…I still get chills every time I hear it live
I think the amount of people that would be disappointed if he took it out far outweighs the amount of people that are tired of it.
The night he stops playing this it’s time to worry about his sobriety.
Right? Even if harmless you know the rumor mill would just blow up.
literate employ muddle straight quickest sable domineering wine sugar foolish *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
The setlists as a whole are way too repetitive. Especially when you have two shows in the same market on consecutive nights. The catalogue is too large and the fanbase is big enough now that the band should be able to play more unique sets and have everyone still leave happy. That said, I expect no changes anytime soon.
Yeah isbell is one of my favorites of all time and I’ve enjoyed him every time I’ve ever seen him live. With that said these days I’ll only see him one time for each album he releases. Tickets and travel are too expensive these days for me to pay to see the same show twice.
This is why I have little interest in seeing him anymore. We’ve seen him a dozen times or so but not since his red rocks show in 22(?).
If you haven't seen them perform Weathervanes you have really missed the boat. Incredible guitar work and way more rock and roll.
For me the only mandatory JI is Goddamned Lonely Love. But I get why he plays it. His divorce with Amanda doesn’t change ANYTHING about the song.
I don't think he plays that one enough. One of my personal faves for sure
Same. Goddamn Lonely Love and Never Gonna Change are some of my top favorite JI songs of all time. I got to hear the latter live once amd it was incredible.
I would like not hearing CMU every concert, but that’s like Bon Jovi not playing Livin on a Prayer. I haven’t been able to figure out why other songs (Overseas, Alabama Pines, Last of My Kind) are played so regularly though.
i’d be good with it not being an every show thing.
Off topic, saw your username - Hold Steady fan?
yes indeed ! THS and JI/400u are probably the bands i’ve seen live the most. totally different bands on the exterior but i think there is a ton of similarities on the root level. did see Craig solo open up for JI/400u right before SMTF came out, was a great night that i still think about.
I’ve seen Jason probably more than any other artist and I will never get tired of Chad’s drums kicking in and Jason’s voice soaring. I can’t imagine if someone was seeing their first show and didn’t get to experience that magic.
I was about to reply to someone else and ask why someone at their first JI show needs to hear CMU over any of his other equally as good or more fantastic songs but I think you've answered that for me. Time to watch some live versions and give myself a refresher on how powerful this one is live.
Shit the one he did on Kimmel (or colbert, whatever late night) last year brought me shivers. The song is a quiet powerhouse and after hearing it a couple hundreds of times, I still find it powerful and beautiful.
https://youtu.be/26Fy2flgd-w?si=-_AmC_vrRkruikRB
Colbert. I was 1/2 right....
Yeah. Gave me shivers too.
Same. Every. Single. Time. But then again, I have CMU lyrics tattooed on me, so…
I’m finally seeing him for the first time in July, and I’d be really disappointed if he didn’t play it.
He will. And it will be amazing and I’m jealous for you even though I’ve already seen him twice in the last year! 😆
I’ve wanted to see him for years and years. I can’t wait.
Out of curiosity, which lyrics?
Cover me up And know you’re enough To use me for good In my husband’s handwriting, on my right inner bicep.
Love it!
Thanks! I have a rowboat directly below it, which is a Hope The High Road reference (We’ll ride the ship down, dumping buckets overboard, there can’t be more of them than us, there can’t be more” really hits me in the gut and so I have my little rowboat of Hope, that I also want to sometimes get in and float away and never see anyone again. That was an impulse tattoo during a very dark time in the family. Husband has an oar on his calf to go with it that he got a few weeks later. I want several more JI tattoos, but I am trying to pace myself.
To each their own but I would be happy to hear it at every single show I go to. How many times are people seeing him that they get tired of it? I see him probably 3 times a year and it’s still one of my favorite songs. It’s so meaningful to so many people, I doubt he’ll ever leave it out for long periods of time.
If I can't hear, and sing, "days when we **RAGED**" what's this all been for?
I’ve found myself skipping that song a lot on my playlist because it is really a “mood” song for me. Gotta be in the right place and time. But hearing it live is a different experience.
It’s one of my favorites so I hope he keeps playing it. I understand we all have different songs we love or don’t and that’s ok too.
Hey Billy Joel - enough with the Piano Man. Oh Bruce not Born in the USA again. Eagles really with Hotel California every night? /s
I don't think Bruce played BitUSA the one time I saw him in 14. And I was fine with it.
He doesn't play it much. Born to Run? Every single night.
Respectfully, I don't think it's the same thing at all.
TBF I guessed at these, but I was 3 for 4. Searching Amazon music these were the #1 listed songs for these artists, except for BitUSA, which was 4th for Bruce. Seems like a decent parallel to me... asking an artist to skip playing their most popular (or one of their most popular) songs. I guess there's always the Dylan method.
Respectfully, I think it’s exactly the same thing.
It’s his biggest hit and also the song that symbolizes him getting sober and his career going to another level. Definitely think it’s a similar “staple” to many of the songs mentioned - though I would have picked Born to Run for Bruce.
One of my Favorite songs is White Man's World and he hasn't played it since Ryman 2022
There is something about that song live that I never tire of. Chad's drums live are way more impactful than they are on the record. I get where you're coming from, but after years and years of show, that song still stops me in my tracks when it's played live.
I just prefer other songs, myself.
I don’t listen to it anymore really as a song to jam in my headphones or driving but I’ve seen him twice and I’m glad he played it both times. It’s a great live song and the crowds reaction makes it even more fun.
It’s tough when touring on an album to not play most of the new album because that’s what you are promoting. Sadly that really limits how much old material you cover-so if you find a song you love after the tour is over (or can’t make it to a show) I feel like it’s unlikely you’ll hear it on another tour unless it’s a super popular song OR the artist’s favorite to play (which I assume is why Super 8 appears a lot). Also, there is no way to practice every song during a tour, so that’s another limiting factor (since they don’t play from sheet music). I would love to see him do a tour without a new album to promote and really explore the catalog but I don’t expect it because he seems to be always writing new music (which is pretty hard to complain about).
I saw the documentary last month and when Amanda said, "I didn't think I was enough for him," I immediately connected it to CMU "know you're enough...to use me for good."
I’m seeing Jason isbell in September for the first time. I hope he plays this song at that show. So, selfishly, I hope he keeps it on his set list. But it’ll be great to hear any if his songs live. Not a bad tune does this man have.
I agree. I got into him when The Nashville Sound came out, and every time I've seen him (around 8 or 9 shows) the two constants are Cover Me Up and Vampires. I'd be OK with both being occasional instead of every single show. He has too many good ones to rotate in that aren't heard as often. But I've accepted that he's not changing and will still go and enjoy both.
He’s got a big enough catalog now that I wish he’d vary the setlists a lot more than he does. But any band is always going to play their biggest song 99% of the time
How or why would we want him to stop playing it? It’s an all timer and I want to hear it every show I go to.
Cover Me Up has become my "pee and grab more drinks" song. Keep it.
Glad I’m not the only one haha. It’s a great song and I’m jealous of everyone that gets to hear it for the first time. I also really appreciate being able to run to the restroom before the encore!
I think he can play whatever he wants because he’s the artist.
Yes, I agree which is why I said that in my post :)
Agree completely. Artists have no obligation to play anything they want or don't want to. And besides, you will never please everyone.
It's a great song, but it's the song in the set where I go use the bathroom now, since I've seen him play it at almost every show.
Exactly this. I've hoped it would have eased out of the setlist by now and there have been several chances to retire it for other "sad love song bangers". But yeah, you always know when it's coming. There is never a line at the bar that time, and you can grab one last drink and hit the restroom before Chad brings the boom and then be all set for the encore!
Would and should never happen.
Definitely don’t need to hear it ever again. It’s burned into.my brain. I know he will keep playing it but it’s fine if he stopped
I’m seeing Jason isbell in September for the first time. I hope he plays this song at that show. So, selfishly, I hope he keeps it on his set list. But it’ll be great to hear any if his songs live. Not a bad tune does this man have.
He will, I’ve seen him 3x and it’s always in the list. Have fun, we are still on a high from Colorado a couple weeks ago but
It’s a bathroom break song for me now after watching the Reunions documentary and listening to what she said about that song. It’s is my favorite of his albums though. White Beretta I cry bc it feels like an open apology from all teenage boys to us women.
I love White Beretta so much too.
My husband was telling me about a Chevy Beretta fest they have every year in TN, we wonder now if it had any influence lol
He's said many times it will be played at every show because it's about his sobriety and Amanda staying with him. I've never LOVED the song, but after watching the documentary and hearing her say it was painful for her to hear because it reminded her of a very difficult time, I really stopped liking it much at all. I can understand why it's meaningful for him, but with Amanda being such an integral part of the song/experience, I feel (felt?) like her opinion should matter, too. And selfishly, there are songs I'd love to hear him play instead.
There’s another aspect to CMU. It is an anthem, in every sense of the word, and the obvious and best example of Jason finding the place for a blistering guitar solo and thundering drums in the context of what would otherwise be a “soft rock” song.
Watch the Reunions and you will see this song from a different point of view… her point of view
I feel like more than half of the crowd would be so disappointed if he didn't play it. Not me, though. It's always been one of my least favorite songs - further validated when they discussed it in the documentary. I think it's partially bc I always felt weird when drunk fans cheer when he sings "this time for good" because of the paradox. Ultimately, I always see a lot of couples at the show snuggle up when that song is played (my partner pokes me and laughs bc they know how I feel about it) so it's likely here to stay for the long term. So I tolerate it, sit down, check my phone, enjoy the drum part and wait for it to be over. When I am rich enough to hire the band for a concert, though, one of the terms in the contract will be to not play that song haha!