In a musical landscape filled with sampling and Auto-Tune, it is refreshing to experience a band like Rusted Root in concert. Their stage is not covered with fancy props or a bank of computer driven synthesizers sampling pop songs; instead, it is covered with musicians that possess the one thing computers can’t recreate, raw talent.
I am fortunate enough to catch the band two or three times a year, and each time I see them I am reminded why I love them so much. Simply stated,they are a great live band, and whether they are playing their hits like “Ecstasy” and “Send Me On My Way” or testing out unreleased material, they play with an unparalleled conviction.
Thursday night’s show at The Rapids Theatre in Niagara Falls NY was no exception. The opening act, Western New York’s own Big Leg Emma, played a blistering opening set and received a well-deserved enthusiastic response from the crowd. Not only did they get the crowd warmed up, they had the room burning with excitement, thoroughly ready for the headliner.
The Rapids is the perfect room to see a band like Rusted Root. It’s architecture is like Rusted Root’s music, it combines the majestic art of the past with a modern sensibility. There was plenty of room for fans to groove to the music, and they did.
Singer/guitarist Michael Glabicki’s voice is unique and powerful. He manipulates his voice like an instrument, adding just the right emotion to each song. He is complemented by longtime band members Liz Berlin and Patrick Norman, along with newer members Colter Harper and Preach Freedom with occasional support from Dirk Miller.
The band opened with a fan favorite, “Martyr,” and rolled through a set that included classic numbers like “Lost in a Crowd,” and closed the regular set with an inspired version of “Voodoo.” The real highlights in this show included three new songs that will be appearing on an upcoming independent release that will be partially funded by fans. (Check out Rusted Roots official website for details)
The songs, “Fortunate Freaks,” “Monkey Pants” and “Cover Me Up” sounded fresh and exciting. They are all toe tappers that make excellent additions to the bands set, my favorite being the funky “Cover Me Up.”
The band encored with “Ecstasy,” which featured a long jam intro. Rusted Root is fortunate to have a song like “Ecstasy” to encore with, the song never gets old and always draws an amazing crowd response.They ended the evening with the haunting “Beautiful People,” always a nice touch after the crowd has been whipped into a frenzy with Ecstasy.”
It was another stellar live performance that fans have come to expect from Rusted Root, at a great venue with an appreciative crowd.
Set List:
Martyr
Lost in a Crowd
Back to the Earth
Cover Me Up
Blue Diamonds
Food & Creative Love w/ All Along the Watchtower (excerpt/ Bob Dylan cover)
Monkey Pants
Fortunate Freaks
Laugh as the Sun
Cat Turned Blue
Send Me On My Way
Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley cover)
Up & Down
Dance In The Middle
Voodoo
Encores:
Ecstasy
Beautiful People
We would like to thank Alana Mulford from BD Management for allowing BackstageAxxess to review the show.
