Last week, I hit up the Highline Ballroom in west Chelsea for the first of many live shows this summer — and I can say, while my musical spirit was resuscitated, I was left wanting more. Which is a good thing, because I have quite an itinerary of gigs to get through! (NEW SHOWS JUST POSTED!)
Bobby Long — an English folk singer and guitarist — kicked off his second U.S. tour at the Highline, this time backed by the Kalob Griffin Band. Complete with two acoustic guitars, one electric, bass, drums and even a lap steel guitar, I was really excited to hear Bobby’s old repertoire morphed into a fuller, richer sound.
In all honesty, the arrangement of some of the “new” old songs was overkill and a bit of a mess; like they took the original bluesy, raw, acoustic melody and drowned it in a soupy sauce of over-bearing drums and electric guitar solos. I was literally watching with a cringe. I’m not one for change…or messes really…
But! Not to be disappointed, I was really impressed with one of Bobby’s mainstays, “In The Frost.” The multi-instrument sound really suited this song, in a toe-tapping, Pat Green kind of way. Check it out:
Note for copyright infringement: The following are not my videos.
Note for judgmental viewers: I am not one of the screaming girls in the audience.
And the show only got better from there. Maybe it was just a rocky start — Bobby did talk about how he and the band only met the day before to start rehearsing. That’s another thing I love about his shows: his stories. Leave it to an English, country-boy songwriter to tell good “behind the music” stories. Here’s another one about a heroin-addict prostitute he used to play with as a child (…??!):
True to his self, Bobby mixed in a few acoustic segments, letting the band take a break. In my opinion this was the best part of the show. It’s interesting to see someone actually look more comfortable on stage alone — maybe it was the familiar mask of his harmonica holder…maybe it was his second Heineken kicking in. Either way, Bobby closed the show with a soulful rendition of “Dead and Done,” reminding me why I trucked all the way over to the west side on a Tuesday night. Here it is:
Check out Bobby online – the music bar at the bottom of the page will give you a clip of several songs. I’ll leave you with my most-favorite Bobby performance: “Sad Woman Blues” at Room 710 in Austin, TX. I’ll be back in a couple weeks to review She & Him and the exciting new venue out at Governor’s Island.
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