January is notoriously a quiet month for gigs especially as
dates from touring artists don’t normally kick in until the latter days of it.
However there is no better way to fill this void than to seek out a local act who
are striving to raise their profile amongst the plethora of bands plying their
trade on the pub circuit. So it’s with great delight to introduce the
Shropshire based quartet Moonshine Runners and to kick off this third year of
live reviews with a band who, through a combination of inventive covers and excellent
originals, harness a sound that perfectly fits their catchphrase of ‘from
hoedown to harmony’.
In essence the band extracts their influence from a cocktail
of primarily Americana sources tipping their hat along the way to the fine
purveyors of both country and folk rock, all laced with a drizzle of authentic
roots. Their highly entertaining and exhilarating live show is a melange of democratic
instrumental and vocal interchangeability. Leads getting tangled up may be a
band in-joke but the richness emanating from banjo, bass, mandolin, lap steel
and various types of acoustic guitar adds a significant flavour to their choice
of songs.
The band introduced three originals into their comprehensive
pair of sets at The Brewhouse music annexe at Dudley’s Lamp Tavern pub. Two of
them evolved from the pen of Graham Clews who is the band’s prime multi-instrumentalist.
‘Where You Gonna Run’ is a delightful
vocal exchange of softly driven country rock showcasing the band’s capacity to
harmonise exquisitely amidst a sweet aroma of gentle acoustic strumming and
atmospheric lap steel. This song has the potential to turn a lot of heads on
the UK Americana circuit. Graham’s other contribution was a sea shanty style
folk number ‘Will You Go’ which came
over really well, while the third original composed by Tim Barratt ‘Living My Dream’ had a positive vibe to
encourage its surfacing into the wider world. Tim also delivered an engaging,
entertaining and enthralling version of a twisted tale titled ‘I am my own Grandpa’.
In addition to Graham (mandolin, bass, drums, lap steel,
guitar, vocals) and Tim (guitar, vocals), Moonshine Runners are completed by
Rob Cooper (banjo, bass, guitar,vocals) and Chrissii Wing (lead vocals, bass). However
this is far from a compartmentalised band as exemplified by the instrument
exchange and each member contributing unique valuable lead vocal segments. This
was particularly highlighted in their top notch version of The Band’s ‘The Weight’ where the verses were
equally distributed, chorus harmonised and Graham living his Levon Helm moment.
The band’s approach to covers is to take a mix of pop
standards and more specialist material then put their own stamp on them with a
roots orientated twist. ‘Weather with You’
had some lap steel treatment while mandolin freshened up ‘Norwegian Wood’. ‘Swept Away’
by The Avett Brothers, Poco’s ‘Rose of
Cimarron’, Faith Hill’s ‘Mississippi
Girl’ and ‘Watermelon Crawl’ originally
recorded by Tracy Byrd are not your normal Friday night pub covers but the
Moonshine Runners expertly interpret them to ensure eyebrows are raised. They
acknowledged the populist angle of their chosen music style with a version of ‘Hey Ho’ and the Bob Dylan/Old Crow
Medicine Show/Darius Rucker, fast becoming a standard, ‘Wagon Wheel’ is a sure fire winning addition to any set.
They make no secret to their admiration of Fleetwood Mac in
both influence and style. Chrissii excels on their version of ‘Landslide’ while Tim rises to the
challenge of the guitar solo on ‘The
Chain’. The acoustic touch to all their choices reveals a layer of
authenticity and allows the innate talent to flourish. The sparkling finale
focussed on the sparring of Tim and Rob during the band’s rendition of ‘Duelling Banjos’ and would have been a
fitting finale itself had not a request for ‘Sweet
Home Alabama’ been politely fulfilled.