The Dead South hit the Warfield in San Francisco California August 15 2024 during their Chains & Stakes tour. They brought with them, The Builders and the Butchers on this part of the tour which was the perfect blend of folk rock. This was a nearly sold-out show and the audience was there early. This was going to be good.
The Builders and the Butchers were the first to perform. Hailing from Portland Oregon, this band is celebrating its 20th year in the industry and they delivered an outstanding performance. They kicked off with “Dirt in the Ground”, showcasing their dynamic and up-tempo sound. Following that, they performed “Redemption Song”, which was well received by the audience. During “Bottom of the Lake”, they introduced a viola player who also managed their merchandise and he skillfully jammed with them. At one point during “The Coal Mine Fall”, they encountered a technical issue when the mic stand dropped down, but the lead singer continued the song on his knees, displaying remarkable resilience. They wrapped up their set with “Bringin’ Home the Rain”, which also featured the viola player, and received a tremendous round of applause. The lead singer, Ryan, also jumped into the audience and played his guitar and sang while the crowd surrounded him, this capped off a memorable and engaging start to the evening.
The Builders and The Butchers band members:
Justin Baier – Drums, Backup Vocals, Percussion
Willy Kunkle – Bass Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
Ray Rude – Drums, Piano, clarinet, backup Vocals, Percussion
Ryan Sollee – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Percussion
Harvey Tumbleson – Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar, Vocals, Percussion
When The Dead South hit the stage, it was to shearing applause. Beginning with “Blood on the Mind” they started with a banger off of their new album Chain’s & Stakes. The next songs were old ones off of their Good Company album starting with “Yours To Keep” which brought the crowd to a roaring applause. Following that was “The Recap” and “Travellin’ Man” before delving into another, not-so-old song called “Boots” off of the album Illusion & Doubt. They continued on with the set but busted out “Black Lung” off of their Sugar & Joy album before jumping back to their current album for the following tune “A Little Devil”.
The highlight of the evening was the self-titled track “The Dead South”, that song was awesome. Next were three songs off the new album, “20 Mile Jump”, “Clemency” and “Completely, Sweetly”. Those three songs sounded fantastic and the audience expressed their approval. The final song of the new stuff was “Tiny Wooden Box” and after that, the lead singer Nate Hilts stated that the rest of the set was all old stuff. Man, he wasn’t kidding. “That Bastard Son” came off their first album in addition to “In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company” and “Honey You”. They went OLD on those tracks and the crowd ate it up. From there, they introduced the band to us as thunder rumbled throughout the venue. The band then took a short break before coming back on stage for two encore songs, “Broken Cowboy” and “Banjo Odyssey” before finally saying goodbye to San Francisco… for a while.
The Dead South Band Members:
Nate Hilts – lead vocals, guitar, mandolin
Scott Pringle – guitar, mandolin, vocals
Calum Scott – banjo
Danny Kenyon – cello, vocals
Setlist:
Encore:
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Photographer of about 10 years, I have been shooting concerts for about 8 of those years. I started to get serious about concert photography about 6 or 7 years ago and now try to shoot as many as I can. I shoot mostly rock but, have done some country and big band stuff. I love music and since I am nowhere close to being a musician, this is a way I can be a small part of what, in the words of Henry Rollins, “gets me through the highs, the lows and everything in between”.
