The band from left to right:
Ben Whitely, String Bass and backup vocals
“Champagne” James Robertson – guitar and effects
John Showman – Lead Vocals and fiddle
Roman Tomé – Drums and backing vocals
CFN – This was a rare night at the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage. First of all, there was only one act scheduled for the night and, secondly, it was a full band that took the stage. Typically there are at least two performers who are usually either solo or accompanied by one other musician. Once New Country Rehab started performing it was obvious why. As a member of the audience we only needed the one act to be totally overwhelmed with the excellently performed music.
From the moment New Country Rehab took the stage until the last song they performed as an encore, we were so engaged with their songs and performance that as a group we were left breathless. During the break we stood around the cafeteria eating homemade cookies and making comments like “WOW” and “Awesome”.
The band was not big on conversation between songs. They just jumped from one song to another and gave us more than our money’s worth of performance. John Showman (a very fitting name) as an intro to one number, did describe a memorable character they met on tour only to say that when you meet an interesting character, scary or not, you just have to write a song about them.
To be honest I am not an aficionado of country music but if this is what country has evolved to I have just become a fan. I guess I should just trust the line-up of musicians that the board of the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage has scheduled and forget about my presumptions. So far I have not been disappointed in the talent that they have brought in. The next concert is on April 27 and features Laurence Juber with Brandon Roderick.
I hope to see you there.
What would David Lee Roth do?