Eric Brace & Last Train Home Strike Up The Magic In Richmond
When the calendar turns to January, it’s time for Long Train Home. You can count on Last Train Home to make their annual trek of the Mid-Atlantic. The one time band which originated in the Washington, DC area in the late Nineties, is led by Nashville transplant Eric Brace who revived the dormant band to make two new albums over the past four years.
As January goes, you can count on Brace and the seven piece band to do their three-gig mini-tour of the DMV Tristate area encompassing the Tin Pan in Richmond, Virginia, Rams Head in Annapolis, Maryland and the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia.
When Brace stepped onstage at the Tin Pan, he came with his camera to video the audience as if to take it all in. I’d seen Joan Baez do this on her farewell tour but for Last Train Home, their return to the stage is an affirmation of something special and a tradition reinforced by a fraternity of men who share a special bond that grows with time.
As trumpeter Kevin Cordt gave a salute and blew a kiss to the tables stage left, Brace gave a thumbs up to the sound booth and the lights went down. The band kicked into “Lorelei” and the interplay of Cordt and sax player Chris Watling gave the small room the feel of a full horn section onstage. As they segued into their traditional cover of Bob Dylan’s “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You,” it was like starting an old car engine that hadn’t been run in a while but turned over like it was yesterday.
Each new year brings reflection for the group of friends who put out a record in 1997 called Last Train Home and wondered if it would be their last. Commenting on all the time that has passed, Brace deadpanned “We talked about how many years and then we stopped.”
The small room was so intimate that Brace called out people by their first names. He reverently remembered Richmond’s old Ashland Coffee and Tea which was a stop for so many years for Last Train Home and their roots music/Americana brethren. Brace fondly remembered the stellar listening room which was adjacent to train tracks and gave them an automatic segue into “Dogs On The East Side” inspired by the dogs of Nashville who howl as the trains pass through town.
Though Brace moved to Nashville where he runs Red Beet Records, the core nucleus of the group still resides in the DC area. Referring to the group as a “bi-urban band,” it was clear that the band has been playing for so long that Brace can go around with a simple cue or look. This was evident during “Lorraine” when Cordt’s trumpet solo gave way to guitarist Bill Williams on harp and segued seamlessly into Dave Van Allen’s pedal steel. on “Dogs On The East Side,” his steel playing punctuated the room and Watling’s brooding sax turned it into a steamy nightclub. One song later on “I Know a Bird,” guitarist Williams showed his versatility on banjo as Watling doubled on accordion.
The evening was a tip of the hat to old friends who were lost including longtime collaborator Peter Cooper and Jerry Lawson of the Persuasions. Brace recounted Cooper introducing him to Johnny Cash and how he wrote “Hendersonville” after he and June Carter Cash passed. As Brace framed the song broadly about those who are gone, there was emotion in his voice and he seemed to be thinking about Cooper.
The night’s two sets long raced to an end as the band blazed through brother Alan Brace’s “I’ve Never Been To Memphis” which broke into “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down.” The horns were honking like we were in New Orleans. Brace was lead cheerleader calling out Williams on slide and the two horn players. It was a full tilt rock and soul revue. The show ended with a glorious send-up of The Bee Gees “To Love Somebody” and Graham Parker’s “Hold Back The Night” with Brace’s strong baritone carrying the night and Scott McKnight and Van Allen playing joyous solos. These are guys who intuitively know and follow each other and strike magic doing it.
After all these years, it would be surprising that Last Train Home has a new member. For his first night, drummer Deren Blessman fit like a glove and passed the audition. Looking ahead, he has a show with Jonathan Sloane at the Tin Pan in a few weeks. At the merch table, Brace’s new CD Simple Motion with Thomm Jutz was on display. It’s dedicated in memory of Peter Cooper and will be officially released February 16.
When the band played “List of Sorrows” early in the first set, Brace said the band hadn’t played it since their debut in 1997.
A woman named Deborah corrected him and said it was actually in 1998. Brace quickly anointed her as the band’s archivist and made a promise.
“We’ll do it next year,” Brace said and he sounded like he had his first New Year’s resolution set for 2025. We look forward to holding him to it.
Find more information here: https://www.redbeetrecords.com
Enjoy our previous coverage here: At The Birchmere, Last Train Home & The End of an Era
