Vintage Trouble at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (05 Oct 2014)

There’s no denying their music’s description—



Self-described as “live-wired, straight-shootin’, dirty-mouth’d, pelvis-pushing juke music” and “the new protocol of soul”, Los Angeles quartet Vintage Trouble more than lived up to that moniker, closing this leg of their Swinghouse Sessions Tour, with a raucous 100 min. night of revelry at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis.



Following up 2010’s self-released The Bomb Shelter Sessions, the band went the acoustic route with the new five song The Swing House Acoustic Sessions EP to show a different side of their music, and booked an accompanying tour, with the Minneapolis date added somewhat late to the itinerary.

Ty Taylor

One of James Brown’s many nicknames was “Mr. Dynamite” and that torch may have been ably passed to VT lead singer Ty Taylor, who mimics many of the Godfather’s signature moves, but adds his own take, and is the mesmerizing center of the band.

Nalle Colt

Guitarist Nalle Colt, drummer Richard Danielson, and bassist Rick Barrio Dill fill out their more than professional lineup, who dresses impeccably, shakes each other’s hands before each performance, bows as a group, and remembers the showmanship level of classic rock and R&B bands of old; traits that are now unfortunately an exception, rather than the rule.



Energy level started high with opening songs ‘High Times’ and a very extended ‘Total Strangers’ that saw Taylor twisting and turning and guitarist Colt cutting loose with blues-ridden riffs early. Taylor remembered their first time headlining in town as “that place with a ceiling so low we couldn’t jump… in some basement…” and mis-heard the venue shouted back to him as “The Never Bar”, calling the name “appropriate – never jump, never do s#!t, because you’ll knock yourself out”, referring to its tiny size.



‘Lo and Behold’, from the new acoustic EP, was instead done electrically, with influence and a guitar intro by Colt, done with a pronounced Spanish flavor. For ‘Run Like the River’ and its chorus of “Run baby run”; Taylor did just that, sprinting from the stage into both sides of the crowd, high-fiving fans, then to the balcony level itself where he finished the song hanging over the edge.



Mid-set, chairs were set up at the front of the stage for a four-song acoustic performance, beginning with the touching, ‘Not All Right With Me’. The socially conscious and soulful ‘Another Man’s Words’ and yet-to-be-released ’24-7-365 Satisfaction Man’ rounded out this short, stripped down portion of the show.



Energy immediately pushed back up to fifth gear with initial single, ‘Blues Hand Me Down’ and a party-starting ‘Strike Your Light’ which found Taylor returning to the middle of the crowd, getting everyone lower with the beat, only to stand and jump up, on cue.



Their set ended with the slower ‘Run Outta You’, with the sole encore being their more-than-risqué update of the sound of Wilson Pickett’s ‘Land of 1000 Dances’, the not-so-subtly titled ‘Pelvis Pusher’.



As the song wound down and crowd continued to clap along, the band took their leave of the stage one-by-one, heading directly for the merch booth to meet every one of the fans present; another sign of consummate band professionalism.



If Vintage Trouble is indeed the “new protocol of soul”, the future is in very good hands.

john (john@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic