Steve Gunn at Industry City in Brooklyn

Every time I’ve seen Steve Gunn has been so special and unique. I’ve seen him four times this year, the first two with fellow guitar virtuosos William Tyler and Ryley Walker, respectively, and once more solo. I didn’t think anything could top the latter – the audience was rapt. You could have only heard a pin drop aside from his silvery vocals and intricate fingerpicking. 
This show may have done it! Accompanied by a full band this go-round, including fellow guitar master and lap steel Jim Elkington, the music that came from these musicians with talent that quickly proved to be more than the sum of their parts, sent shivers up the spine. Elkington kicked off the opener, “Luciano,” with an extensive lap steel solo, from Gunn’s latest release, The Unseen in Between. After a few more transfixing songs off this latest release, along with a gorgeous rendition of Michael Chapman’s “Among the Trees”, Gunn exchanged his acoustic guitar for electric and the band got to jamming with “Wildwood” from Way Out Weather. Again, the audience was captivated as the band added more and more layers of resonance and harmonious discord to each tune. Gunn and Elkington again played a stunning, swirling, extended introduction, letting absolutely loose on their instruments to introduce “Way Out Weather,” while the wind picked up and softly rustled through the leaves, adding another dimension to the labyrinthine instrumentalism while the musicians regarded each other in near-reverence. Finally, Gunn returned to the stage alone to play “Morning is Mended” on acoustic- my favorite song off the new album, showcasing his haunting vocals and poeticism, as well as Gunn’s entrancing musicianship. As attendees filtered out onto the street, the thunderstorm that had been held at bay for the night broke loose, as if Gunn’s odes to the elements had held some power over them; an invocation.

Listen to Steve Gunn on Bandcamp.