Blistering bluegrass; Classic country; Awesome Americana. Three simple superlatives that sum
up the manic musical mayhem that transpires into an Old Crow Medicine Show live
performance. Faint hearts and traditional deniers need not apply to join their
band wagon but fans of Darius Rucker’s version of ‘Wagon Wheel’ are welcome as long as they treat the song as an
initiation into the old time world of the Old Crow Medicine Show. Many of those
who packed the 1500 capacity Ritz in Manchester well and truly bought in to the
ideals of the band with several hard core gig goers shuffling out at the end muttering
that they had just witnessed the best concert of 2014.
With such a turnout and buzzing atmosphere throughout the
evening, there was a satisfying re-assurance that the future of country music
in the UK was heading down the right path. Although it has to be acknowledged
that the Old Crow Medicine Show has made several UK visits over the years, cultivating
a fan base and possibly attracting a cross genre audience. Recently acclaimed
collaborations with Mumford and Sons via their award winning road trip
documentary will have served them no harm but ultimately it’s their impressive
songs and spellbinding stage show that successfully seduces an audience.
There was the added spice to this 2014 UK tour that Old Crow
were bringing along Parker Millsap as their opening act. Stateside luminaries
have been shouting from the rooftops for a while about the talents of this latest incarnation of an Oklahoma song writing gem, bestowing him with an Emerging
Artist nominee at this year’s Americana awards. Armed with a stack of songs
from his excellent self-titled new album, Parker brought a touch of dustbowl
blues to a damp Manchester alongside his sidekicks of Michael Rose (upright
bass) and Daniel Foulks (fiddle). Growing in influence and presence with each
song, Parker was approaching his peak by the end of his short opening set.
Whilst the projection of his stunning anti-love song ‘The Villain’ would have been more suited to a smaller quieter venue
on this occasion, ‘Old Time Religion’
and especially ‘Truck Stop Gospel’ at
the end saw him hit a mightily impressive stride. Old Crow’s decision to bring
Parker back to sing a version of Van Morrison’s ‘On
the Mystic’ during their encore also reaped vast dividends and sealed a positive
impression of an artist deep rooted in the soil of authentic Americana.
Right from the lively opening chords of ‘Bushy Mountain Conjugal Trailer’ through
to nearly two hours later, a closing celebration of Tom Petty’s ‘American Girl’, the slick superiority of
Old Crow’s supreme stage show sailed through a sea of mainly accelerated
acoustic adulation. The interactivity and occasional hyperactivity of all seven
band members raised the pulse of a show which ebbed and flowed through the band’s
fifteen year recording career. Not surprisingly tracks from their current album
REMEDY featured prominently and it is probably a touch harsh to single out ‘8 Dogs 8 Banjos’, ‘Firewater’ and ‘O Cumberland
River’ as stand out live numbers. Many would no doubt enthuse about that
other Dylan finishing project ‘Sweet
Amarillo’ as main vocalist Ketch Secor sarcastically hailed the country
radio playing of that other Dylan originating song as the prompt for the great man to
send another unfinished masterpiece to them.
The current Old Crow Medicine Show line up is a transient
co-operative of roots music artisans blasting out banjo, guitar, mandolin, fiddle,
harmonica amongst countrified pedal steel and soulful keys, all being kept in time
by percussion and upright bass. Alongside Secor’s main vocals and band leading
presence, Critter Fuqua provided most singing assistance with Gill Landry
particularly stepping forward to heat things up with a hearty serving from ‘Mary’s Kitchen’. Kevin Hayes came to the
fore impressively on ‘Sweet Home’,
while comical interludes and theatrical step dancing were among the many
talents of Cory Younts. Individual performance aside, the spirit of the band is
in its collective aura and passion to pioneer the roots of country and
bluegrass music long into the future.
As the show progressed, the packed venue responded to each
request, whether restoring near silence for the band to deliver a couple of
numbers around a single mic with minimal instrumentation such as ‘The Warden’ or needing little
encouragement to bellow out the chorus to ‘Wagon
Wheel’ word perfect. The renewed life of this old song has been incredible
in the past year with a deluge of different versions accompanying many live
shows up and down the country. From a personal viewpoint ‘Alabama High Test’ held a special moment as 2008’s TENESSEE PUSHER
release propelled the band in my direction and there was a slight
disappointment that ‘Dearly Departed
Friend’ from the new album didn't fill the occasional moments when everyone
needed a breather.
Best gig attended of 2014? It is wrong to assume that any of
the remaining shows will not surpass the highs of this Old Crow Medicine Show
gig. Credit to Manchester for hosting three great shows this year when you add
in Eric Church and Kacey Musgraves to this one; Shame on the venues of
Birmingham for not willing to bring the cream of country talent to the Second City.
However some evenings are worth the investment of time and travel. Old Crow
Medicine Show and Parker Millsap rewarded that investment many times over.
www.parkermillsap.com
Review Parker Millsap's new self-titled album
