Vintage Trouble have a work ethic that is at odds with the current fast track road to fame. Reality TV and the cult of celebrity are not on their agenda, which prefers a diet of touring, touring, and more touring instead. Doing things the old-fashioned way is certainly paying dividends with a sold out Sage serving as a testament to their ever-increasing popularity as a live act.
Frontman Ty Taylor is a star in the making. He’s blessed with the youthful exuberance and moves of James Brown in his heyday and a voice dripping with the pure Soul of the great Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett. Taylor certainly has the substance to go with the style. Dressed in a sharp suit, it didn’t take him long to break down the barriers between band and audience as he seemed to spend as much time in the crowd as he did on stage.
The band are no slouches either. With hot shot guitarist Nalle Colt providing the Rock to Taylor’s Soul, and a skin-tight rhythm section featuring Rick Danielson (drums) and Rick Barrio Dill (bass), the effect is a devastating combination of Soul-soaked Groove-laden Rock ‘n’ Roll. They are the epitome of cool and must be the only band on the planet that can make The Dap Kings look like The Wurzels.
For a band that recorded their excellent Bomb Shelter Sessions debut album over a frantic three day period, there is no room for any flab or excess, just spontaneity and energy — the likes of which seems to be missing from many bands these days. Most of the debut album was aired with “Blues Hand Me Down” punching hard and the sublime, soothing “Gracefully” caressing smoothly. New song “Before The Tear Drops” struted and swaggered with an air of supreme confidence backed by a simple message of partying ’til the cops come calling. It was perhaps the curfew-busting show closer, the call and response anthem “Pelvis Pusher”, that really raised the roof and shows that there is plenty of fire in their bellies for album number two.
Vintage Trouble are a veritable breath of fresh air with an energetic performance that leaves you not only breathless but glowing with a “feel good” factor that you can only get when you’ve witnessed a genuinely passionate band.
As part of the opening night of The Sage’s annual Americana Festival, Vintage Trouble certainly stirred things up and set the standard for the more established acts to reach. There’s no doubting that the future is going to be very bright.
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