Son Volt back at The Pageant

Jason Gonulsen
Special to Metromix

"May the wind take your troubles away."

Whenever I think of Son Volt, I think of those words. They are, of course, the heart of one of their best songs, "Windfall," from their best album, 'Trace.' In fact, I wish Jay Farrar, lead songwriter for the band, would be simple with his lyrics more often. There's nothing like rolling down your windows while "Windfall" is blasting in your car on a nice day. It's pure road trip music—you really feel its cleansing beauty.

And Son Volt's latest album, 'American Central Dust,' is beautiful, too. Its best song, "No Turning Back," is a lot like "Windfall," in my opinion. It's that good of a song; it might be so good that the rest of the album doesn't come close to its greatness, making the collection of songs a little uneven.

The Son Volt live experience, though, is far from a rollercoaster ride. Farrar and Co. are as steady as they come, so if you are planning on going to the show tonight at The Pageant, don't expect to get too high or too low. Instead, just sit back, relax and enjoy the night. That's the key to enjoying a Son Volt show.

Hope it's a good one!