{"id":2235,"date":"2013-10-07T23:57:30","date_gmt":"2013-10-08T04:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/?p=2235"},"modified":"2013-10-08T09:34:02","modified_gmt":"2013-10-08T14:34:02","slug":"ggr-live-review-drew-holcomb-and-the-neighbors-the-old-rock-house-st-louis-mo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geekgoesrogue\/2013\/10\/ggr-live-review-drew-holcomb-and-the-neighbors-the-old-rock-house-st-louis-mo\/","title":{"rendered":"GGR Live Review: Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors, The Old Rock House, St. Louis, MO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Thursday nights are a special night for me. \u00a0It\u2019s one of the few nights of the week that I don\u2019t have many obligations, and my wife and I often find time to do a little something extra. \u00a0This past week, that little something was taking in a show at The Old Rock House in St. Louis, Missouri.<\/p>\n

I found out about Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors<\/a> through NoiseTrade.com<\/a> when their song \u201cFire and Dynamite\u201d was featured on a sampler being offered on the site. \u00a0I was immediately hooked and decided to look into this band. \u00a0Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Holcomb and his band combines classic American rock and roll with Southern soul to provide a fun, emotional tapestry of joy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>David Ramirez<\/a> opened for the band, a solo artist from Austin, Texas, and he set the tone for the evening \u2014 you\u2019re gonna laugh, you\u2019re gonna yearn, you\u2019re gonna feel the emotion of everything you hear tonight. \u00a0And it was a solid set of great songs from a master of the singer-songwriter craft. \u00a0When you create a line like \u201cI could start fires with what I feel for you\u201d, you can pretty much write your own ticket in the troubadour circuit.<\/p>\n

You can always tell the mark of a great band by how much fun they have on stage. \u00a0By this standard, Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors are one of the most enjoyable bands to watch. \u00a0Drew told the story at some point during the night of the moment he told his father he wanted to be a professional musician, and it\u2019s that kind of personal revelation that allows him and his band to communicate with the crowd in an authentic manner.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s set leaned heavily on their newest record,\u00a0Good Light<\/em>, which is available on iTunes<\/a>\u00a0and in carbon-based form on their website<\/a>. \u00a0While the recording is a great example of do-it-yourself production and engineering, and is a departure from the high-polish production values of their previous outing\u00a0Chasing Someday<\/em>,\u00a0<\/em>it\u2019s in a live setting where these songs really get to live and breathe. \u00a0The whole band moves together as one unit, completely in sync with each other, playing off one another\u2019s vibes and attitudes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Drew himself comes off as a humble, grateful fellow, going so far as to thank the crowd a few times throughout the night for \u201cletting us do what we love\u201d night after night. \u00a0This was the band\u2019s first trek into St. Louis in over 5 years, and a collection of people were in attendance, eager to take in the band\u2019s brand of soul-infused American rock n\u2019 roll. \u00a0They even busted into a segment of Tom Petty\u2019s \u201cAmerican Girl\u201d in the middle of one of their tunes, much to the delight of several in the crowd.<\/p>\n

Ellie Holcomb, Drew\u2019s wife, supplied support vocals and the occasional lead while banging away on her mandolin or tambourine. \u00a0The rhythm section was tight and well-balanced, and also helped round out the backup and harmony vocals. \u00a0While Drew is the chief songwriter and driving force behind the band, the stage was a showcase for everyone to strut their stuff, and they made even the simplest of chord progressions sound as fresh and unique as anything you\u2019ve heard before.<\/p>\n

I mentioned that the songs really came alive during the performance, and those from the newest album, Good Light<\/em>, could not have been more suited to this type of live experience. \u00a0Supplemented by some simple lighting effects, the band\u2019s live renditions were handled with a lightness hinted at from the album\u2019s title, both in the relative ease with which the band played, and in the romanticism of the lyrics. \u00a0Holcomb\u2019s not just a romantic about the people in his life \u2014 as evidenced in \u201cNothing Like a Woman\u201d \u00a0and \u201cNothing But Trouble\u201d \u2014 but also about the geographic origin of his inspiration, the song \u201cTennessee\u201d, one of the highlights of the band\u2019s performance. \u00a0While some of the songs had a darker tone, Drew and the band maintained the light of hope throughout the night, always coming back to their joyous, bright tones of elation.<\/p>\n

Closing out their concert with 2 of the strongest cuts from their previous album, \u201cFire and Dynamite\u201d and \u201cLive Forever\u201d, the band then left the stage while Drew himself brought his acoustic guitar and a stool out onto the floor, stood up on it, and played the final song of the night from the middle of the crowd. \u00a0Again, the less-than-greatest camera in the world, which I happened to have on it, can\u2019t really do it justice, but you can catch that final number right here\u2026<\/p>\n