Last Train Home with Tom Mason and the Elves
Where: Iota Club, 2832 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
When: 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Info: $12; no advance sales, 703-522-8340; iotaclubandcafe.com
It has been 12 years since Last Train Home burst onto the D.C. scene as a rock/folk/country band whose lush harmonies and rich lyrics nabbed plenty of fans.
Founder and creative leader Eric Brace, who will forever be known in this area as a former music critic for The Washington Post, wants fans to know that even though he’s now happily based in Nashville, Last Train Home is chugging along, stronger than ever. The band members will prove that this weekend when they take the stage at Iota. In what has become an annual tradition, the band will play two night shows and one afternoon/family show at the club that gave the band its start.
“It will be an eight-piece band at Iota. I love it,” Brace said. “I want to go out there and remind people how much fun we are.”
There’s little doubt the live show will do just that, but fans can also get an extra reminder this year. Brace and LTH recently released “Six Songs,” a CD of tunes that the band has often played live — including “Soul Parking” and “Autumn Leaves” — but never recorded. The CD was recorded in the studio, which allowed LTH to include a horn section, steel guitar and electric guitar as handled by guest Karl Straub.
“We’ve always had so much fun playing those songs, I wanted to capture them,” he said. “We started recording them when we were on the road and said, ‘Let’s just go in the studio and do this.’ “
Although schedules of guest artists and concerns about quality control convinced Brace to record in the studio and not on the road, the sound is spunky and genuine. It’s easy to see how Brace’s formula of including guest artists — in both recordings and concerts — set the pace and tone for the band and won it kudos as energetic, passionate and innovative musicians. LTH is no jam band, but it is definitely inspired by guest artists who significantly influence songs’ direction and energy.
That’s a formula that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band — which has famously had an array of top-flight musicians including Jackson Browne in its lineup since forming in 1966 — has used to continue to provide fans with solid, ever contemporary songs while retaining its signature sound.
“I just want to keep it going, the way the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band keeps going. I want to keep making records, keep the quality level high and with every release raise awareness of us,” he said. “Maybe we’re not on a huge, multimillion-dollar level, but the longer we stick around, the more fans we have.”
