The name
may have been familiar for a number of years, but the paths of Frontier Ruckus
and me were yet to cross at any level prior to this gig at Thimblemill Library.
A couple of pre-show snippets online whetted the appetite and the stage was set
for another act from the Loose Music stable to glide into my sphere. This show
was the latest offering from the team behind bringing some high quality roots
music to a venue ably adaptable in switching the arts from the written to the
performing word. Frontier Ruckus’s brand of lo-fi sensitive alt-folk fitted in
well in this quintessential listening environment, to the extent of front man Matthew
Milia implying it was a little unnerving. The bonus to that lay in the fact
that every nuance of this trio’s intrinsic music was delicately heard, savoured
and akin to another favourite band added to a growing list passing through the
art deco surroundings of this fledgling venue.
To states
such as Oregon, Virginia and Tennessee, you can now add Michigan, a location that
very much influences and informs the music of Frontier Ruckus, being
represented at Thimblemill events. This was perhaps the most we learned about
the trio as they lent heavily towards allowing their soundtrack to sell the
message. Milia’s vocals and guitar playing acted as the focal point, although
at times it was seriously challenged by the instrumental diversity of Zachary
Nichols, fluidly moving between melodica, trumpet, organ and your common
hardware DIY saw. This was not the first time seeing the latter appear on
stage this year with Jonathan Byrd’s sidekick Johnny extracting some twang from
the handy tool. Nicholls probably used his more frequently and a very haunting
sound added to the atmosphere, drawing comparisons to what you hear in Hawaiian
pedal steel.
Completing
the Frontier Ruckus trio format is banjo player David Jones, consistently
giving the core urban feeling to their songs a deft rural coating with a range of
subtle strumming and pickin’. Jones frequently joined Milia on two-part harmony
and sonic similarities to the Milk Carton Kids occasionally flickered across
the mind.
Across the
hour and ten minutes that Frontier Ruckus appeared on stage, it would be
difficult not to honour the last three or four songs as the evening’s
highlight. Sensing the perfect opportunity to improvise, the band unplugged
(not that the saw was electrified in the first place) and set up shop inches
from the front row to play the most barest of purist music you could expect to
hear in a formal gig setting.
This was
not an evening to draw too much on the songs of Frontier Ruckus in their
informative existence, as introductory titles were sparse. One exception was ’27 Dollars’, a track proving to be the centerpiece
to the band promoting their most recent album. There was a hint of looking
forward to returning home as this West Midlands visit acted as the penultimate
date on a European tour that included a set at the inaugural Long Road Festival
last weekend. However, this did not impact upon a performance rich in texture
and compelling in its poignant delivery.
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| The saw having a rest |
Contributing
to the fullness of the evening’s presentation was an opening forty-minute set
from Irish singer-songwriter- guitarist John Blek. Hailing from Cork, which
proved relevant to his standout song about a Dutch seaman, Blek’s presence grew
significantly during his performance. The inter song introductions added to the
spice of the set and it was not too difficult to see how he had made the
touring troubadour life his living over a number of years now. The booking of
John Blek seemingly went down positive and plans are in motion to him returning
soon.
Hopefully, the
same can be said about Frontier Ruckus. Hazy memories surround any previous
gigs in the area, but future dates will be more pertinently absorbed. There were
initial perceptions of the band being a little quirky, but I found their song style
quite conventional, with the left field influence coming from the instrumental
assortment, which tended to garnish the tracks rather than lead on them. The
success of this gig stemmed from the aura created from a band individual in
style and one steeped in the diversity that flows from the all-encompassing
Americana state of mind.
www.frontierruckus.com