In his day job Shiflett performs in front of thousands of fans in the behemoth that is The Foo Fighters. Tonight about 1100 lucky souls welcome him and chums to the Scala. It’s a big upgrade from his last show here but it still sells out within a few days such is the draw.
As I said in my previous review Shiflett’s back catalogue is mainly acoustic led Americana but tonight its full electric with the band which gives his solo output a fresh and different perspective. It’s quite simply a good old fashioned rock n roll show.
Before I go any further a shout out to Dea Matrona the Irish sisters who also specialise in simple guitar led rock and roll. If I can get my diary aligned I will definitely check out a full set for their headline tour later in the year.
Back to fellow gooner Chris, tonight’s set is a mixture of tracks from across his previous two albums ‘West Coast Town’ and ‘Hard Lessons’, a few new tracks from the forthcoming album plus some select covers including one of my favourite ‘Stones’ tunes ‘Dead Flowers’ thrown in for good measure with Dea Matrona joining him on stage for backing vocals.
The band are tight and there’s plenty of room Chris to showcase his licks which is probably not always evident in the Foos but the guys on bass and drums hold it all together providing that driving rhythm throughout too.
There is plenty of banter throughout with songs dedicated to Gregg’s sausages, his son and a warning from his wife not to go full country when he dons his white Stetson.
There is much joy in the crowd and the band are clearly having a great time and you feel that this is the stage that Shiflett feels most at home on. Down and dirty and small and sweaty, and the heavier tracks are perfect in this setting. Let the Foos pay the bills and allow Chris to develop his own career.
Keep on rock n rollin’ y’all