Last night I went to my first concert since I moved to Madison and caught Steve Earle‘s show at the Barrymore Theatre.

Musically, Steve and his backing band (the Dukes) rocked the house, concentrating on songs from his two most recent discs, “The Revolution Starts Now” and “Jerusalem.” He didn’t ignore his back catalog though, playing excellent versions of older tunes like “Guitar Town,” “Copperhead Road” and “Goodbye.”

Steve Earle wears his political views very much on his sleeve. With songs like “F the CC” and “Rich Man’s War” there’s no doubt how he feels about the current administration and its policies. One of his points (musically illustrated in the “The Revolution Starts Now”) is things are not going to change if people don’t act. Sure, you have to start small, but every big change begins with small actions.

The revolution starts now,
In your own backyard, in your own home town.
So what you doin’ standing around?
Just follow your heart, the revolution starts now.

While I generally agree with his views, at times a few of his political diatribes between songs went a little long, making the crowd (and myself) restless for more music. Usually though, our patience was rewarded afterwards, with Steve and the band taking those strong political views and turning them into strong performances.

A few cover songs were the best surprises of the evening. Toward the end of the show, Steve and the band played a killer version of the Beatles’ “Revolution” which segued into a reprise of “The Revolution Starts Now.” A few songs later Steve announced that he and the band don’t feel like it’s a good night without a Rolling Stones cover and launched into “Sweet Virginia.” Next Allison Moorer (the evening’s opening act) sang the last of several duets with Steve on George Harrison’s “Isn’t It A Pity.” Fitting the political theme of the night, the show’s closing song was a raucous version of The Chamber Brothers’ classic, “Time Has Come Today.”

All in all, a great first concert in the city of Madison.