So much has been written about the last year or so, it is difficult to think that one can say anything novel or interesting that adds to the conversation. Over a weekend in mid- April, Fargo favorites The Quarterly not only added to conversation, they also reminded us how important-hell, vital- live music has been for so many of us, and for this writer, being reminded of the humanity in the collective experience of a live show.

It’s been a little over 16 months since this band last appeared on stage in December 2019 at The Aquarium (their usual home), and the full first flush of feeling with the opening notes of “Shakedown Street” filling the spaces of the Sanctuary Event Center on the Saturday night show reminded of why the music matters, and launched the crowd beyond some of the difficulties of the last year. The somewhat unique medley of “Mama Tried” into “Brown-Eyed Women” indeed dusted off the bottle at an upbeat tempo further pulling in the attendees back to a welcome and familiar spot for all after so much time off.

Maybe it would’ve been easy to be swallowed up or intimidated by the gorgeous top-shelf Sanctuary, but the band showed no evidence of that.  The former church fed the collective spiritual experience of the gathering, once again familiar for all as the band fell into a loose-and-grooving “Sugaree” followed by a tightly played “Help On The Way>Slipknot>Franklin’s Tower”.  A sturdy “Loser” followed by an energetic “China Cat Sunflower>I Know You Rider” with a unique and jammy transition closed out the first set.

Next up after the set break, the drummers (with guest percussionist Adam Cariveau) were up for a hard and rhythmic “Samson & Delilah” as the perfect second set opener leading into an unexpected (for me, at least) “Scarlet Begonias>Fire On The Mountain”, with guest horn section Keith Thornby on tenor sax and Steve Wallevand on trombone.  This band is so good at making the “jam” transition sections their own, and this Scarlet>Fire is no exception.  “Feel Like a Stranger” seemed to lift the audience even further with its instantly recognizable opening chords, retaining the fresh horn section sound.  “Drums>Space” led perfectly into the slow groove of “New Speedway Boogie”- a somewhat ominous song with its history, but in this case, extremely well played.  A lively “U.S. Blues”- a fitting title for these times if there ever was one-and a “Not Fade Away” encore closed out the night, likely sending everyone out the door and into the cool spring night with hope for more after a long year off with no live music.  This band absolutely pulled the faithful together in Fargo- and on the high quality, professional live stream- on this first, very therapeutic, night back.

My anticipations were high for the Sunday show, particularly when I learned that the band would be doing the throwback style of a first set acoustic/second set electric characteristic of some of 1970 and some of 1980.  The band had pulled this off very effectively 3 years ago at the usual venue.

“Dire Wolf” with its characteristic riff opened the matinee all-ages show, but a glittering “Cassidy” was a great choice for this opening set, and extremely well played- this did not sound like a band that had an extended pause from performing. “Bird Song” reminded of the good vocal ensemble this band can be, and the following “Dark Hollow” reinforced it.  “Jack-A-Roe” perfectly set the stage into a tender and soulful “China Doll” with the band accelerating into the electric set with “Iko Iko” and familiar favorite “Ripple”.

The electric set opened strong with a lively “Don’t Ease Me In” and what was one of the more solid performances of either show, “Jack Straw” with a strong back and forth vocal by Pat and Jason. A loose and timely “Cold Rain and Snow” followed into a very well-played “Ramble On Rose”- this can be a song in lesser hands where tempo might drag, but not with this crew.

Perhaps the most well played song of the 2 shows was up next, an energetic, extended version of “Eyes Of The World”.  Quality solos on this song were in abundance, including a guest turn from the youthful Keaton (Jason’s son) on guitar.  Sliding from the excellent closing jam into “Drums/Space” and the emergence of “The Wheel” is always a good transition and certainly was on this afternoon session. “The Music Never Stopped” made it seem like that sentiment was true with its fiery jams.  A rockin’ “Deal” was the encore of the afternoon into early evening, which proved to be a very good time for a Sunday show.

Most, including myself, likely emerged from the weekend feeling hope and healing from a couple of excellent and professionally played shows, something I suspect we all needed after a long break away from live, in-person music and from so much personal disruption.  These shows were also available on high quality streaming audio and video, also very enjoyable- perhaps both subconsciously registering and resetting that the March winds had blown some of our troubles away on this April weekend.