Donning a flat-brimmed hat, Benjamin Tod casually sauntered on the stage of Chicago’s iconic Thalia Hall with the Lost Dog Street Band behind him. “You didn’t tell me he was so attractive!” my date, a fellow displaced Southerner, exclaimed, much to my chagrin. The audience clapped with a few hoots and hollers as the band rolled into their newest single, “Brighter Shade”—a toe-tapping love ballad about his wife and bandmate, Ashley Mae.
After a successful solo album, Benjamin Tod rejoins The Lost Dog Street Band for a national tour to promote their eighth album, Survived. Dropped earlier this year, the album is an ode to the resilience of Tod and Mae’s relationship, the struggles of long recovery, and redemption. This is a stark contrast from the hoe-downs and hootenannies on Nashville’s Broad St., but not uncommon to Tod.
For the last decade and a half, the Nashville-based band has been at the forefront of a growing trend of country musicians walking away from the grossly stereotypical tropes of trucks, tractors and sexism and bringing heart-felt cowboy poetry back to the genre. A trend Tod mentions later in the show commenting as the authority on self described “sad bastard music” on young musicians rising to prominence through TikTok and other alternative means.
Save for a few roustabouts, the boot-clad crowd was calm and a little uncomfortable, possibly preparing for the emotional onslaught coming their way or settling in for an intimate performance from their favorite musician. Either way, it’s clear that Benjamin Tod, and LDSB fans are die-hard and dedicated. I got the sense many of us, myself included, found solace in Tod and LDSB in their own recovery journey. Evident in their eager stomping, clapping and crying as the band soars through their short set.
And who wouldn’t? Tod’s lyricism captures the struggles of addiction with relatable lines like “I wish I was who I appear ’cause I despise the man in the mirror” from the 6th song of the night, “Using Again.” While later touching on the nuanced truths of early sobriety with “That the war inside of me will kill the man I have been” from “The War Inside Me.”
But it’s not all tears in your NA beer. The ecstatic energy of Tod’s return to LDSB emanates from Thalia Hall’s stage as Tod’s rustic voice croons in step with Mae’s fiddle in “Hubbardsville Store.” A deep-mountain melody with a bright beat that’ll get anyone boot-scootin’—sober or not. Or the raucous and rowdy bluegrass bop, “September Doves,” their most popular song featuring a sinful steel guitar solo, and last song of the night.
Overall, Tod’s return to LDSB has captured the energy of a honky-tonk with the intimacy of picking on the front porch. All while providing safety for those in recovery to release in a space that, for me at least, can be triggering. My only complaint is the set felt like it was over just as it was taking off. Playing for a little less than an hour, I left hungry for more, but honestly, happy to be home before midnight.
If you’re into old country legends like Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark, this is the band for you. But if you’re iffy on the genre, which is reasonable considering the state of mainstream country music today, I’d compare Benjamin Tod’s crooning voice, engaging lyrics backed by a hauntingly beautiful fiddle to late 2000’s indie-darlings, The Decemberists. Personally, I like to imagine Benjamin Tod as the country music variant of Colin Meloy.
Departed from Birmingham, AL in early September with opener Nolan Taylor, and ending in St. Louis, MO on 11/10, their tour is making its way towards the west coast now. Grab tickets while you can, and bring your bolo tie, boots, and maybe a box of tissues.
Words by Jody Bufkin for Staged Haze
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