Winter, especially the holiday season, is the worst time for live music in Atlanta. Acts tend not to tour during the holidays as audiences generally don't come out to hear live music during this time. Last night was an exception, as Birmingham, Alabama's St. Paul & the Broken Bones performed at the Fox Theater's Egyptian Ballroom, the first live show I've seen since last November's Quiet Hounds show at The Goat Farm.
Athens' Sam Burchfield opened.
Burchfield played inspired Americana, mixing the sounds of banjo and trombone into the guitar-driven country rock of his songs. The music gamboled along at a pleasing pace, and he kept the audience engaged with a mix of soul, bluegrass, and even a little New Orleans' stomp. It was a nice opening set.
The headliners, Paul Janeway's band St. Paul and the Broken Bones, took the stage at 10:20 pm and played a 90-minute set, including encores.
Janeway more than channels classic soul performers like Otis Redding, he absolutely recreates their sound. Close your eyes and it's easy to forget you're listening to a white band from Alabama but instead that you've been transported back to Stax Records' Memphis studios circa 1968. The eight-piece band included three horns, which added a satisfying punch to the arrangements.
The band was enthusiastically received by the sold-out audience, and Janeway kept the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout the show. They played songs from their album Half The City, plus covers including soul classics like Wilson Picket's 99 And A Half (Won't Do), as well as some surprise covers, like David Bowie's Moonage Daydream and even a Radiohead song. They closed their four-song encore, after Call Me, with a rousing and faithful rendition of Try A Little Tenderness.
The Egyptian Ballroom is a lovely venue, about the size of Terminal West, and I'm not sure why there aren't more shows booked there. The audience was not your usual rock-club crowd, and for once I wasn't the only one in the room with a grey beard. It might have been the band or it might have been the venue that attracted the older crowd, but it should be noted that it was also one of the ruder audiences that I've been a part of. Say what you will about Millennials, but they know how to pack together in a room (and even mosh) while still respecting each others' space. There was more than one person who looked like an over-40, suburban attorney who tried to push in front of me before the band started and acted indignant and privileged when others in the audience expressed their displeasure in being pushed aside or having their view blocked. This isn't a criticism or a knock against the band, but pull it together, boomers, you're giving us a bad name,
