Eric Church is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the release of his 2013 album (April 9th), Caught In The Act, which was captured during in 2012 at the Tivoli Theater in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The 17-song collection features tracks from Eric’s previous three albums, 2011’s Chief, 2009’s Carolina and his 2006 debut, Sinners Like Me, including “Over When It’s Over,” “How ‘Bout You,” his first charted No. 1 “Drink In My Hand,” “Hungover & Hard Up,” “Sinners Like Me,” “Smoke A Little Smoke” and fan favorite, “These Boots,” among others.
The North Carolina native said taping the album reminded him of when he played the bars and clubs before getting his record deal. “We kinda left the lights up, so you could kinda look around and see everybody,” says Eric. “You could see the emotion, you could see the face[s], you could hear ‘em. I felt at home. I felt like I was back in those bars and clubs that I love so much, and theaters, that I’ve had that interaction, that connection with individual people.”
The title, Caught in the Act, perfectly describes how they recorded the album. “We wanted it to be as loose as it could be because that’s what our career has been. It’s been real,” says Eric. “I remember…like an hour before that first show of myself and the band, two hours maybe, we pulled out a sheet of paper and we took out a pen, and we went down and made a set list. We didn’t know what we were starting with. We didn’t know what we were finishing with. We just went down and said ‘Hey, what do you want to play? What do you want to play? Hey, man remember, we haven’t played this in a long time.’ There were songs that I thought there’s no way I’ll get through that but our sentiment was let’s try it. Let’s go for it.”
“I think that with the Caught In The Act, it was very much you had to catch it because it may or may not have happened. It was just one of those things that it was so by the seat of our pants and off the cuff that it may or may not have worked,” adds Eric. “We could have easily recorded this, filmed this and came to the end and went ‘This isn’t good.’ We could have done it. We treated it that way. It wasn’t overthought. It was let’s try to see if we can create this environment that the magic and the music can mesh together.”
Caught In The Act: Live Track Listing:
1.) “Before She Does” (3:46)
2.) “How ‘Bout You” (4:24)
3.) “Drink In My Hand” (4:51)
4.) “Over When It’s Over” (2:57)
5.) “I’m Gettin’ Stoned” (5:27)
6.) “Creepin’” (4:45)
7.) “Keep On” (2:52)
8.) “Hungover & Hard Up” (3:33)
9.) “Sinners Like Me” (4:22)
10.) “Country Music Jesus” (3:49)
11.) “Pledge Allegiance To The Hag” (4:54)
12.) “Jack Daniels” (6:03)
13.) “Homeboy” (4:40)
14.) “Lotta Boot Left To Fill” (4:21)
15.) “Smoke A Little Smoke” (5:14)
16.) “These Boots” (3:43)
17.) “Springsteen” (9:27)
Eric Church (taping live album) OC: …individual people. :37
“It was interesting for us, because we came straight from arena shows and we’re doing the same thing, not the same thing, but a similar thing every night, to completely pulled out of our element, like we’re back in bars and clubs. We made the set list up that day around a drum kit, going, ‘What have we not played in a while. Let’s do everything, you know, do all our songs.’ I just enjoyed seeing the people. We kinda left the lights up, so you could kinda look around and see everybody. You could see the emotion, you could see the face[s], you could hear ‘em. I felt at home. I felt like I was back in those bars and clubs that I love so much, and theaters, that I’ve had that interaction, that connection with individual people. It wasn’t just groups of ‘em, it was individual people.”
Eric Church (title of live album) OC: …came from. 1:10
“With Caught In The Act we tried not to make too much of a deal about ‘Hey, we’re setting up here. We’re making a live record.’ We wanted it to be as loose as it could be because that’s what our career has been. It’s been real. I remember we have some footage like an hour before that first show of myself and the band, two hours maybe. We pulled out a sheet of paper and we took out a pen, and we went down and made a set list. We didn’t know what we were starting with. We didn’t know what we were finishing with. We just went down and said ‘Hey, what do you want to play? What do you want to play? Hey, man remember, we haven’t played this in a long time.’ There were songs that I thought there’s no way I’ll get through that but our sentiment was let’s try it. Let’s go for it. And I think that with the Caught In The Act, it was very much you had to catch it because it may or may not have happened. It was just one of those things that it was so by the seat of our pants and off the cuff that it may or may not have worked. We could have easily recorded this, filmed this and came to the end and went ‘This isn’t good.’ We could have done it. We treated it that way. It wasn’t overthought. It was let’s try to see if we can create this environment that the magic and the music can mesh together. And that’s where the title came from.”
