Its night one of four gigs in five days this week for me. A crazy schedule which doesn’t get any easier the older I get but it doesn’t happen often and it’s usually this time of year which is one of the prime new album release periods. That said, on this occasion, no brand new album release for Zach Bryan for this his debut London gig, touring in support of his fine double ‘American Heartbreak’ from last year.
This is a strange review for me. First off Bryan is a gifted songwriter and singer with a great voice, not unlike Ryan Bingham, and he was great, the band were on fire and were also suitably great, the usual sound at the venue was great but did I enjoy this enough for a five-star review. Its probably a no. My problem and I use the word loosely was the crowd interaction. Its wasn’t that it didn’t exist, it was that there was too much for me. I was definitely in the minority of not singing as loud as possible every single word of every single song.
I look back to when I was in my mid-twenties and I suppose that I too knew every word to all of the songs being performed by whoever it may have been, probably Marillion but of course exposure to so much music in those intervening thirty years means that I have listened to so much different music it’s impossible to connect and remember the lyrics to each song in the same way I once did. I don’t want to come across as a bah humbug and I enjoy a sing as much as the next person, but it would have been nice to have heard Zach’s great voice more.
What’s interesting for me in the past couple of the years is the connection between artist and audience has never been stronger. I think like no other genre of music I watch the UK country fans are the most passionate about their artists. It’s also curious to me how these newer country stars like Bryan and Childers are attracting such a young audience and where they first heard them and I can only assume that this exposure must be related to TV or movie licensing but whatever it is its working.
To the show itself. From song one ‘Open the Gate’ it’s a roller coaster of ninety minutes of full throttle country rock belters interspersed with the occasional slowed down love song or one of lament. Unlike a normal roller coaster though this one kept climbing and climbing to new heights. As you would expect the set is ‘American Heartbreak’ heavy but there’s plenty of time for oldies like ‘Godspeed’, ‘Burn, burn, burn’ and set closer the epic ten-minute rabble rouser ‘Revival’ where each band member is given their moment to shine and shine they do. The crowd need no encouragement from Bryan to raise the roof and its certainly the loudest I have seen the Assembly Hall or indeed any similar sized venue.
In summary, it’s a super slick country rock show full of genuine highlights of a rising star in the country scene who will no doubt be playing much larger venues in the very near future.
Keep on country rockin’ y’all