Focusing almost entirely on songs from their great new record With Light and With Love, Woods played before an enthusiastic crowd near the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in downtown Richmond, VA Sunday night.

I flew down Sunday morning for the show and came back to New York 24 hours later.

Woods went on at about 11 PM and played for 62 minutes. They performed every song on the new record except for New Light which given its greatness is bound to surface in the live setting at some point. The set list Sunday night mirrored the one Woods followed at their Brooklyn warm-up gig last week. The only difference was that Woods tacked on two tunes at the end of the Richmond show. After a full band huddle on stage at the end of their main set to discuss an encore, Woods front man Jeremy Earl led us on a visit to the Feather Man for “boiled peanuts and a man’s best friend.” Earl’s sweet, pitch-perfect croon on this number brought a smile to a crowd that tilted young but ran the gamut age-wise.

This was night three of a string of 18 Woods dates over 22 days. All of the shows are in cities within the Eastern or Central time zones which makes this run of gigs a little less harsh from a travel (via van) standpoint than previous Woods tours. The challenge for the band on this stretch of performances is an effort to hone delivery of the gem-filled collection of songs on Light/Love in the live setting. Without the benefit of significant rehearsal time as a full unit, Woods is working out kinks on these new ones as they go along. All of them sounded great to me with minor glitches here and there. The one song that failed to come together completely was Moving to the Left which is understandable given the complexity of the sounds and the momentum shifts that occur within it. The Presley slide guitar line on Full Moon was nearly inaudible on the floor when Jarvis Taveniere played it early in the set but that was a technical issue that got sorted out soon after. Cali in a Cup was one of just four non-Light/Love songs that were played. It got a huge audience response as it always seems to. John Andrews of Quilt played the harmonica part on that song. Andrews was positioned stage right. He sat on a barstool behind a Rheem keyboard (and what appeared to a smaller Yamaha unit resting on top of it). Andrews’ contributions to the Woods sound are really important given the high usage of organ/keyboard sound layers on the new record. Andrews plays drums in Quilt, the band opening for Woods on this tour. Quilt’s set was met with a very warm expression of support. A couple of times between songs during their set, Quilt’s Anna Rochinski blushed a bit over the loud ovations that punctuated conclusions to their numbers.

As Woods fans know by now, this tour commences a new curve in the band’s long, winding road. Kevin Morby is gone pursuing a solo career and big shoes are left to be filled.

It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that Woods settled on a replacement. His name is Chuck van Dyck. Taveniere introduced van Dyck (pictured above) to the Richmond crowd between songs. Listed as the guitar player in the newish Brooklyn band Marvin Berry and the New Sound, van Dyck’s new job in Woods is a wonderful opportunity given what’s on the band’s docket in 2014.

Listed below are the songs Woods played in Richmond. I failed to recognize the last tune of the night and didn’t stick around to ask.

1. Leaves Like Glass
2. Full Moon
3. Cali in a Cup
4. Shining
Intense interlude into…
5. Bend Beyond (a few fans scream during the Earl guitar solos)
Another interlude into…
6. Size Meets the Sound
7. Shepherd
8. Only The Lonely
9. Moving to the Left
10. Twin Steps
11. With Light And With Love
—————————————-
12. Feather Man (dedicated to the Punt King)
13. Unknown song – perhaps a cover?

Admission (bought in advance) was $13.65 and Bud bottles were $3.50. This was the third time Woods has performed at Strange Matter. I liked the club. It has an ill-conceived Southpaw-like bottleneck near where the audience fills the main passageway gap but it’s not a big deal. The bartenders were friendly. I was a little surprised at the big turnout given it was a Sunday night. The band Perfect Pussy was playing at another club nearby as was Alejandro Escovedo at a bar near the state capitol.

I’d never been to Richmond. It was kinda ghost-townish downtown as I guess a lotta state capitol cities are. On the mile-long walk back to the hotel after the show, I didn’t encounter a single human being and only a couple passing vehicles.

I had a jerk chicken sandwich and a couple of Buds at Empire on Broad Street before the show. The bartender turned on the Nets game for me. Metal played at a moderate volume over the sound system. The women next to me started off their visit to the Empire with Fireball shots. Later at Strange Matter, I noticed more people ordering Fireball. I stuck to Bud.

There’s no viable public transit option to and from Richmond’s airport. The Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) operates what’s known as the 56 bus connecting the airport to downtown but it doesn’t run on weekends and makes only three trips daily on weekdays. This leaves visitors staying downtown with just two choices. Rental car or taxi. I opted for the taxi which cost $35 each way.

The air carrier I work for cancelled its first Monday flight to Newark. I ended up getting the last seat on a 6 AM departure to LaGuardia on a competing airline. This was a seriously lucky outcome.

From Richmond, Woods and Quilt (traveling in separate vans) drove to Asheville, NC for a show Monday night. The tour concludes in NYC two weeks from Friday with a show at Bowery Ballroom. It was recently announced that Frankie Cosmos was added to that bill which will make it extra fun.

One aside about the new Woods record: When I listened to the song Full Moon for the first time, I immediately heard George Harrison’s My Sweet Lord. I composed a tweet to that effect on April 8, 2014. I’m sure lots of people’s ears heard the same thing. It’s pretty obvious. But it was still freaky to hear what John Richards did on his radio show on KEXP a week later. On April 16, 2014, Richards did the Full Moon into My Sweet Lord segue. It worked beautifully.

The eighth full-length record from the great band Woods is officially out today. It’s called With Light and With Love. When you peel off the cellophane from the record’s sturdy packaging and spin the vinyl contained in it, lots of light and love come pouring out.

There’s not a clunker on the record. I don’t adore the opening cut (of ten total) like the rest of them but this is a brilliant collection of songs. The number that will be played and most discussed a long time from now is “Moving To The Left.” Earl has never been overtly political either with his songwriting or public statements. Despite the title, this one doesn’t espouse or reveal any kind of tilt. Earl mainly writes about earthly beauty and navigating life in realms where there’s sun, clean air/water, good vibes and of course, trees. Views on how a day or interaction goes are often described abstractly. Pursuits discussed in some of Earl’s songs are of a solitary or individual variety but maybe that’s just me adapting them to my walks through the Woods. Moving to the Left asks questions about where one fits. Events and incidents repeat themselves and Earl wonders if what we’re experiencing is off axis – or more likely the product of a rut. “It feels strange. It feels the same. We speak in tongues to hold the shame.”

The subject of light comes up many times throughout the record. While the songs aren’t linked as in an opera or such, Earl references illumination often as a necessary ingredient for relaxation, renewal, balance and even sleep.

There’s a real sense of triumph in the way Earl sings on “New Light” which kicks off side two of the record. He doubles down vocally on Feather Man (the last cut) in a way we haven’t heard since he looked at his reflection on Bone Tapper Lake way back when this great songwriter was launching a career that’s become an object of extreme affection and appreciation for a lot of people now.

As my friend Marc said a few weeks ago, you could probably count on one hand the number of current bands who have made eight great indie records with prospects for more. Not only has Earl done that with Woods but he’s nurtured a record label that has helped launch many great bands, artists and projects not to mention his stewardship of the magical gathering he founded in Big Sur.

All but a couple songs on Light/Love were recorded in Greenpoint with the esteemed engineer/musician Al Carlson on hand.

The wonderfully talented musician and Woodsist friend Jonathan Rado plays organ on three of the record’s best songs: Leaves Like Glass, Twin Steps and Only the Lonely. On Glass, the organ is really a big part of the song. Keys are played on five other songs by John Andrews of the band Quilt. Andrews played as a touring member of Woods on parts of last year’s summer gig schedule. Quilt will open for Woods on a string of upcoming dates starting later this month and I’d assume Andrews will do double-duty during that stretch given the crucial layer of sweet sound he adds.

This is release #72 for Earl’s Woodsist label. It’s Woodsist’s first release since Kevin Morby’s solo debut which came out the Tuesday before Thanksgiving of last year. As you know, Morby has quit Woods to embark on a solo career that‘s off to a promising start. Morby remains on good terms with his old bandmates. The cordiality of the relationship is such that Morby has been invited to fill a coveted slot at what will be the fifth annual gathering in Big Sur, CA this August for Woodsist Fest 2014.

It’s unclear how the void created by Morby’s exit from Woods will be filled on stage. That question may be answered next week when Woods does a Brooklyn warm-up gig in advance of the full tour commencing a week from Friday in Philly. The promotional photos associated with upcoming dates offer no hint of what’s in store. It could be Earl does his thing, Jarvis Taveniere plays bass with Aaron Neveu on drums and Andrews on keys – and Woods goes without the beautiful parts Jarvis plays on his Teardrop. That would be a disappointment but don’t forget Woods survived for a stretch without Morby during a Babies tour in the spring of 2011. In that instance, Woods called on an English tour mate to play drums on a few songs while Taveniere played mostly guitar. Some bass parts were left out and Earl favored an acoustic for much of those sets. G Lucas Crane was still in the band at that time which helped visually and sonically of course. I personally think it’s important for Taveniere to have a guitar strapped on for the gig’s duration (or in rotation with Neveu) and a dedicated bass player on stage in addition to the core three. We’ll see. I’d imagine Earl has it well figured out given the number of live dates the band is already committed to play in 2014.

I’d expect “Twin Steps” off the new record to be a setlist lock on the upcoming tour. There’s a blazing Earl guitar solo two-thirds into the recorded version of the song that ought to be fun and super-extendable in the live setting.

It should be noted that Earl enlisted Tim Presley to play guitar on two songs. Presley may be the best rock and roll guitar player going right now. On “Full Moon,“ Presley plays slide in a manner which resembles the sound produced by George Harrison on the song My Sweet Lord.

The record’s cover art features four Earl drawings. The record’s title is on the back with four more drawings including one of a peace sign. The album’s packaging is double-pocketed and opens up to a 1969 photograph taken in Vietnam by Earl’s late father Terry Willard Earl.