Brandon's Buzz

Little Big Town — “Shut Up Train” (from The Reason Why) —

So sorry for the dearth of Buzz posts, but it was quite the whirlwind week around here and I am just now getting a chance to catch my breath. Last Friday night, A and I popped down to San Antonio to catch Sugarland in concert with Little Big Town and Sherry Ann’s old fave Matt Nathanson, and trust and believe this show was well worth the slog through rush hour traffic. I wouldn’t quite call myself LBT’s biggest fan, but I’ve never been able to comprehend why country radio acts like they’re halfway terrified of this band, a nifty cross between Alison Krauss’ outfit Union Station and those rock gods Fleetwood Mac, and only three of whose dozen singles have managed to scratch and claw their way into the top ten. (If there’s even a shred of justice in this nutty world, their latest cut — the masterfully melodic title track of their latest album — will be the one that breaks them for good this summer.) This gorgeous stunner, with its spine-tingling vocal performance from Karen Fairchild, was the emotional zenith of Big Town’s set (if not the night as a whole, although La Nettles gave this gal some fierce competition a number of times), and though the studio version doesn’t quite transmit the same power as the live, brilliantly raw performance did, I bet you’ll be shaken (and stirred) nonetheless.