Red Clay Strays, The Revivalists, Haley Reinhart, et Brent Cobb

It’s not every day that you see a mainstream 7-piece jam band complete with trumpet and saxophone hit the road, but similar to the likes of Moon Taxi and The Wild Feathers, the New Orleans based Revivalists deliver the enthusiastic twang of a southern alt rock band playing with a genuine and undeniably innate sense of rhythm.

For such a big outfit, the guys are close yet comfortable on stage, each ingratiating himself inconspicuously before coming together as a group both mentally and musically for the drop. Vocalist David Shaw’s rough yet rich delivery is at times reminiscent of Ray LaMontage’s husky but passionate tone (especially when he’s stripped down with only a guitar). Shaw not only genuinely inflects his commitment to the song using his powerful voice, but also through his onstage presence, fumblingly calculatedly around onstage while continuously encouraging the crowd and interacting with the front row die-hards.

The unrelenting saxophone, along with the trumpet, pierce the melody, adding to the highly energetic and involving performance; it’s exactly what you’d expect from a 7-piece jam band.

With an EP and two albums under their belt, including a 2014 re-release of the two-disc City of Sound, The Revivalists offer a grand, one-of-a-kind musical experience, continuously touring North America with the entire band in tow.

Haley Reinhart has got a voice to be reckoned with. Her sultry voice is stunning as she takes on a 50/50 mixture of covers and original. Reinhart made a name for herself on hit reality talent show, American Idol when she came in third place. Following Idol, she was signed to Intersope Records and 19 Entertainment in 2014. One of the things about Reinhart that set her apart from the crowd is that her voice is has such a jazz influence, and she showed this off plenty of times in her Idol career. This evening midway through her set, she performs the Elton John classic “Benny and the Jets” which brings the house down. Everyone is cheering throughout the whole song at the caliber of this songstress’s raw talent. One of the most amazing moments for everyone was when she brought her Idol friend Casey Abrams onstage to reprise their version of “I Feel the Earth Move”, which on American Idol earned them a standing ovation from all of the judges. It definitely does this evening as well.
She performs her single “Free” which is taken from her album “Listen Up!” This album peaked at 17 in the Billboard charts; everyone is up off their seats dancing throughout this unforgettable performance. She talks about an album coming out next year but doesn’t give too much away, leaving the audience wanting more.

Wednesday 24th May. The Borderline. Brent Cobb. Its two nights after the terror attack in Manchester and my feelings are the same as when I saw Gary Clark Jr the night after the Bataclan attack. By not attending or the artist cancelling just gives into the terrorists. Yes we must grieve but we have to carry on. The events from Monday night just reinforce the delicacy of life and so we must enjoy every moment we have. If we risk assessed everything we did we would never leave our beds and even then I’m sure there’s a risk associated with that.

So big thanks to Brent and the packed crowd for letting the show go on.

Brent Cobb is a country singer songwriter from Georgia and to avoid any confusion and a doff to Alejandro Escovedo it’s not Americana but firmly country. He’s written for, been covered by or opened for a lot of country’s big stars but he’s now an established artist in his own right.

We’re back at the newly refurbished Borderline and whilst I will never reconcile the painting over of the great musical history of the venue they have on the whole done a good job and Brent and accompanying guitarist enter from the new secret door stage right.

We are then treated to the finest country music for the next seventy minutes. Cobb, full of stories in between songs, genuinely pleased to be there sings from the heart about the South. Tonight’s set is drawn from his latest album along with choice covers from Dwight Yoakam and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

There’s no bass or drums tonight but it’s a perfect blend of electric and acoustic guitar and delightful harmonies throughout. Cobb promises to bring the full band across next time.

On a night of highlights the title track from the album ‘Shine on Rainy Day’ is the obvious stand out with the crowd singing along too. It’s a co-write with the talented Andrew Combs who I saw perform the same song two weeks ago, although he does claim that Cobb’s title for the song is wrong.

So another great country gig, two in two weeks and with Cale Tyson next week, there’s never been a better time for intelligent male country.

Keep on country rockin y’all