Steve Earle returns to Milwaukee with stories to tell
Steve Earle returned to one of his favorite haunts Monday night, Aug. 25 — Milwaukee’s historic Pabst Theater — for the fifth time since 2008. The Hardcore Troubadour has made The Pabst a regular stop on his North American tours, having performed at the intimate venue — built in 1895 — in 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2018. Earle hasn’t mounted a large American tour since pre-COVID, so his local fanbase was eager for the nostalgic performance promised by the Fifty Years of Songs and Stories … Solo and Acoustic.
Surprisingly, the 1,300-seat theater was only half full — perhaps because it was a Monday night, perhaps because of a recent Wisconsin date or maybe because he hasn’t released an album of new material since 2020’s Ghosts of West Virginia. Regardless, those of us in attendance were treated to an evening of raw performances and insightful commentary.
Earle stood alone, center stage with a single microphone, a single acoustic guitar (with a leather strap emblazoned with “Grand Old Opry” — he’ll become an official member of the Opry family Sept. 17), a pair of harmonicas and lots of stories — and, of course, a few songs.
Balding, with a mane of salt-and-pepper hair and a long white beard, dressed in well-worn black jeans and an embroidered mechanic’s work shirt over a logoed tee, Earle cut the figure of a seasoned troubadour, the kind you’d imagine holding court on a front porch. And he had the stories.
Though Earle played a retrospective set of 17 career-spanning songs, it was the stories he told about those songs, about their inspiration and about himself that enraptured me. He spoke about his early recording days and his struggle for success until Bruce Springsteen purchased a copy of Guitar Town — his 1986 debut album — and catapulted the release to No. 1 on the U.S. Country chart.
It’s obvious Earle is a fan of The Boss, he spoke of how he hadn’t missed a Springsteen tour in the 1970s. One can imagine his 50 Years tour was inspired by Springsteen on Broadway.
“People don’t so much care about me but more about something that happened to me that may have also happened to them,” he said about his songwriting. “You like stories about other people that are nothing like me as told by me in the first person.”
While his songs may be less than autobiographical, in his tales between tunes he was candid about his struggles with drugs and addiction and the dark places it took his music. One topic never touched, however, was his son, Justin Townes Earle. Perhaps because while father was able to escape addiction with his life, son was not. A fact that I suspect still haunts him.
Earle may simply have avoided the topic to keep the performance more jovial. He sprinkled in several humorous quips throughout the evening — witticisms like “You remember the library? It’s like the internet, only slower and most of what you find there is true” and “Why the fuck would I get tired of playing that song (“Copperhead Road”)? It’s done pretty good for me.”
Twice during his set, Earle urged audience participation — first on the chorus of “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” and later when introducing “City of Immigrants,” he cracked “If you don’t sing, everyone will think you’re a Republican.”
Two hours later, as the final chords of “Galway Girl” rang out, Earle had reminded Milwaukee why his songs — and the stories behind them — endure after fifty years.
Find tour dates and more information here on his website: http://www.steveearle.com/tour
Enjoy our previous coverage here: In Celebrating His Son’s Life, Steve Earle Makes The Long Walk Home
Tom Ames’ Prayer
Ben McCullouch
The Devil’s Right Hand
Guitar Town
My Old Friend the Blues
Someday
I Ain’t Ever Satisfied
No. 29
Copperhead Road
Billy Austin
Goodbye
South Nashville Blues
CCKMP
Transcendental Blues
The Mountain
City of Immigrants
(Encore) Galaway Girl