TD Garden gig gives Tedeschi Trucks Band plenty of room to spread its wings and soar

BOSTON − It may not have been a sellout, but the Tedeschi Trucks Band’s first headlining appearance at the TD Garden in Boston was a triumph in terms of musical quality, sound and transforming the singular concert experience of the 12-person group to the city’s biggest arena.

It didn’t have quite the "we’re-all-stuck-in-a-shoebox" intimacy of their shows at Boston’s venerable Orpheum Theatre, of course, but Wednesday night’s 18-song, nearly 2½-hour blast of soul, rock, Southern rock and jazz had the crowd of about 14,000 fans roaring its approval throughout.

As a watershed moment for Norwell’s Susan Tedeschi, whose musical career started in tiny South Shore clubs before her talent made her an international star, the night had to have fulfilled almost all of the hopes and dreams she had while attending Berklee College of Music across town.

“It’s amazing to be here at Boston Garden. It’ll always be Boston Garden to me,” Tedeschi said at the end of the regular set, while thanking local fans profusely.

Tedeschi and her husband, Derek Trucks − the latter seen at Monday night’s Red Sox game − have been leading this musical behemoth since 2010.  In the moment of the band’s first number, Joe Cocker’s “Woman to Woman,” a sly nod to the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" tour that inspired their own contingent, the TTB seemed perfect for the size of the venue, all of the dozen instruments ringing out loud and clear as vocalist Mike Mattison delivered the vibrant rocker.

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Later on, Trucks’ old cohort from the later incarnations of The Allman Brothers Band, guitarist Warren Haynes, guested for three songs that were absurdly incendiary, as Haynes and Trucks re-created the unforgettable guitar duels that made The Allman Brothers Band such a force during their tenure.

But a large focus of these two "Garden parties" (with a show at New York City’s Madison Square Garden coming up) was also the 25th anniversary of Tedeschi’s solo record, “Just Won’t Burn,” which has been re-released in expanded form.

Tedeschi sang that title cut early in the first hour, her evocative alto as strong and probably even more soul-stirring than it was 25 years ago. The power and ability to communicate feelings was always a Tedeschi strong point, but now her voice has a sort of burnished maturity that makes it even more impressive. Her voice is not just tearing your heart out, it is doing so while hitting all the notes and nuances with perfection. That tune also gave her a chance to uncork one of her own guitar solos, a masterfully melodic and articulated emotional journey.

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But Tedeschi also had the spotlight on a typically hard-charging take on Bobby "Blue" Bland’s old nugget “I Pity the Fool,” and again her guitar solo was a model of concise storytelling through strings. Tedeschi used the tune’s extended coda to preach a bit too, admonishing us all we need to leave conflict behind and start working together. And her romp through Wet Willie’s only hit, “Keep on Smilin’,” gave that old Southern rocker new vitality.

Trucks had his own singular moments of awe-inspiring musical forays. He’s become such a unique treasure that having various critics salute him as “best guitarist on the planet” has become a cliché. But what else could one say after he led the band through a couple of tunes from the TTB’s 2022 project “I Am the Moon”?

As the TTB was doing “Hear My Dear” and “Fall In,” the music veered between rock, soul, jazz and blues, with Trucks’ slide guitar the central force.  And by the time Trucks and Haynes threatened to burn down the TD Garden with their rendition of the Allmans' “Dreams,” with terrific vocals from keyboardist Gabe Dixon, the audience was almost too awed to respond.

A highlight: Van Morrison's 'Into the Mystic'

One of the night’s indelible highlights was Haynes singing Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” in an easy-grooving, sizzling soul tempo. The horn section boosted the chorus into the stratosphere, then Trucks and Haynes took their guitar solos in turn before joining the whole band in a fiery crescendo to bring it all home.

Opening act Lukas Nelson joined the fun for another Allman Brothers celebration, in the soaring “Dreams,” with Tedeschi and Haynes swapping verses, before a Trucks-Haynes tandem guitar solo evoked those glorious ghosts of the musical past.

“Midnight in Harlem” was a late-set gem, its smooth jazz/soul melody as irresistible as ever. The hard funk/rock march “I Want More” upped the ante, until the regular set ended with a full orchestral overture, as much classical as rock. It was a wonderfully arranged bit of Jeff Beck’s “Beck’s Bolero,” ending that regular set and leaving music fans’ jaws on the floor.

Tedeschi's voice was a highlight of the TD Garden show

For the first encore, Tedeschi sang with just Dixon on piano, and delivered a heart-tugging version of Mike Reid’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” which was a big hit for Bonnie Raitt. But on this night, it belonged to Tedeschi, and her voice embodied a lifetime of yearning and heartbreak in a keepsake musical moment.

Trucks’ slide guitar fired a midtempo boogie through “Bound for Glory.” And then the night ended with Haynes back as guest star for a trip through Dr. John’s “I Walk on Gilded Splinters,” which had both he and Trucks adding layers of mystical brilliance to its spacy theme.

Lukas Nelson and The Promise of the Real, his quartet, opened with almost an hour of their soul-rock-with-twang. Lukas sure sounded like Willie’s son on “Forget About Georgia,” but most of his set forged his own ground, as on the blistering soul-rocker “Ain’t Going to Die Alone,” where Lukas got to showcase his own prodigious guitar skills.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Tedeschi Trucks Band shines in its first TD Garden headlining concert