You may think that Chester is an unlikely setting for this scribe to top up ones Southern Rock ‘n’ Soul levels that have been reaching alarm status of late, but with Robert Jon & The Wreck in town, the Orange County quintet bring the Southern Californian sunshine and their silky-smooth sounds to a cold North West Roman city. Sounds that transcend barriers and borders, effortlessly whisking you away to wherever your mind chooses, and tonight SoCal will do me just fine.
Robert Jon & The Wreck
Chester Live Rooms – 9 February 2023
Words: Dave Bonney
Photography: Dave Davies
With capacity reached downstairs at the venue, the balcony got a rare opening and quickly filled up, too, making for a full house. These guys have been around for twelve years, with the last few years bringing greater momentum, and it seems their time is now.
Opening up with Pain No More, a collaboration with Charlie Starr from Blackberry Smoke, is a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned. It’s one of the band’s heavier moments and with a rather seductive slide solo from Henry James, gets the crowd in the mood from the off. Frontman Robert Jon Burrison says the song is about the kind of pain that comes when the other person doesn’t treat you well but deep down you know you’re worth more, and it seems most of the crowd has been there, lapping it up and belting out the words.
Do You Remember keeps things going with terrific twin guitar harmonies to match the three-part vocal harmonies, rounded off with a slick solo from the man with the most impressive ‘fro.
The latest single, Come At Me, keeps the crowd involved with the chorus line, “come at me cos I’ve had enough”. Check out the hilarious new video where the guys demonstrate that it’s probably best they give the slam dunk a miss and stick to makin’ music!
Waiting For Your Man opens with an intro from the man at the back, Andrew Espantman, who brings the groove, and with his rhythm section sidekick Warren Murrel, they keep things tighter than Biff’s silver spandex. Cooler than a walrus’ ball sack, low-end maestro Murrel kept his shades on for the entire fourteen-song set, impressive stuff.
Rescue Train keeps the party rollin’, introducing new keys man Jake Abernathie, and he shines brightly with a quite sassy solo, while the rest of the band keeps it all going, standing back, allowing Jake to quite rightly take the applause. A great moment in the set and a contender for song of the night for sure.
High Time brings the funk to the party, while Who Can You Love gets the dancers in the crowd, of which there are many, grooving incessantly to this earworm, and if you’re a dancer or just a foot tapper, it matters not as there’s not a static body in the house. A swift panzer movement to replenish my empty glass confirms even the bar staff are boogieing on down.
The emotional Gold takes the tempo right down and seems to be the appropriate time to fill my glass back up again before I fill it with tears. The goosebump solo drags me back from my lament, and as the song fades out with keys, so do my goosebumps.
There have been some amazing virtuoso performances tonight, but make no mistake, RJ&TW are a well-oiled machine, and to quote the well-known idiom, the sum is definitely greater than the parts, with main man Robert Jon being the glue that holds it all together. The prime example is the ten-minute set closer, Cold Night, where everything is going off around him, James shredding for dear life, Espantman flying around his kit and Abernathie getting finger burn off the ivory. The big guy at the front is the consummate leader, drawing all the epicness back in when needed. If this song was written to be their Freebird moment, then they’ve well and truly nailed it. Did I say Rescue Train was a contender for song of the night?
Guitarist James impressed all night with incredible fretwork and with a certain tone that can only come from one’s fingers, but just in case you missed it, he was back onstage first for the intro of Last Light On The Highway Part 1 before being joined by the rest of the band for the merger into Part 2 of this colossal epic that rounded the evening off in sensational style.
I was kind of hoping for a rare outing of On The Run, but alas, it wasn’t to be. Maybe next time, please, gents.
It would be easy to namecheck the influences you can hear in the Wreck’s sound, you got to get your mojo from somewhere, right? It’s also easy to say it won’t be long before journos are using RJ&TW as a benchmark for other bands to aspire to. It will happen.
RJ&TW are a different beast live, with their stagecraft having a welcomed rawness about it, belying the polished production of their studio offerings. Whether they’re sharing a huge stage with Joe Bonamassa or a stage like tonight at the Live Rooms, it matters not, as these guys are full on and giving everybody what they came for.
The audience went home happy after witnessing a musical kaleidoscope of an evening by a band unrivalled by many of their peers. They have toured with some of the biggest heavyweights and judging by tonight’s performance, that status surely beckons soon.
