Regardless of whether he’s playing country music or the blues, or if he’s playing on stage on his own or with his Dukes band backing him up, Steve Earle is still an entertaining performer.
Steve Earle and the Dukes appeared at Affinity Place in Estevan on Friday night, playing many of his biggest hits for an audience of about 700 people.
Earle opened the concert by playing Baby, Baby, Baby (Baby) and You’re the Best Lover That I’ve Ever Had, which are the first two songs from his most recent album, Terraplane.
In a bit of a surprise, he played some of his biggest hits, like Goodbye’s All We’ve got Left, Guitar Town and Copperhead Road, in the opening half of the concert. Guitar Town drew rousing applause from the audience, while Copperhead Road generated immediate cheers from the audience once they recognized the familiar beat.
Earle also played such songs as Sparkle and Shine and GoGo Boots are Back, and mixed in some of his blues music. The main set ended with the song Hey Joe.
Earle and the Dukes returned to the stage for two more songs, Hillbilly Highway and I Ain’t Ever Satisfied.
He also shared a few stories with the audience during the concert.
“I try to find the silver lining in every cloud,” Earle told the crowd. “The thing that I’ve discovered, and the thing that occurred to me … is I’ve written a (expletive) lot of songs. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t die. And some of them are pretty good. That’s what I get to keep are the songs.
