Late last year, an unknown band called The Vintage Explosion went viral following Rod Stewart's praise for their performance of Sam Cooke's classic, A Change is Gonna Come. I bought into the hype and snapped up two tickets to their show at our local venue, RockNRolla's. Like most of the tour, it quickly sold out.
When I listened to their album, my feelings were a bit mixed. Some tracks, such as the above number and Mess Around, were fantastic while others were not my cup of tea. But you can't have everything (where would you put it?).
The buzz on the night was palpable. The mostly older audience, though some were young and others were my age (one, in particular, I noted in tight leather trousers: Faye?), was up for a dance and a sing. We managed to snag a spot close to the stage, knowing the view deteriorates sharply the further back you are.
Of course, some short-arsed drunk, with his coat wrapped around his arm and a can of lager in his hand, had to stand behind me and proceed to bump me constantly with his ill-balanced dancing. Realising he was irritating me, he grabbed my arm to apologise and forgot to let go, losing his train of thought. I made clear his actions were not welcome but that only stopped the knocks briefly. Fortunately, his pals recognised my mood when I stopped moving to the music and stood very still, taking long deep breaths, my chest swelling, shoulders rising. They hunkered him away to a safer location out of my way and I returned to enjoying the music.
Bizarrely, I also witnessed a middle-aged bloke trying to put his moves on the blonde girl beside me, putting his arm around her waist as she danced, chatting something in her ear that immediately had her reach out to her boyfriend who was standing next to her. She slipped out of the creep's clutches and visibly shuddered in a way that was definitely not a dance move. The man slipped away again into the crowd.
The band were a delight. I could imagine them appearing in black and white on an early sixties Ed Sullivan show, dressed in their tuxedos, white shirts and black bowties, wowing the audience both in the theatre and at home. The music was a mixed bag of old-time classics, which everyone seemed to enjoy, the place warming up a sweat with all the dancing.
I couldn't help but imagine the double bass player appearing as a butler on Downtown Abbey, sneering at a piece of dirty cutlery that someone would get the sack for, if not flogged. Then the music would grab him and he'd transform into a string-plucking beast, rocking out like the devil had grabbed his soul.
I also couldn't help but think the lead singer looked a bit like the presenter and DJ Bryan Burnett.
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| Twins? |
This was the best show I'd experienced at RockNRolla's, though I was a little too close to take many good photos or any good videos. Maybe next time, I'll try to get a seat in the balcony.
Ticket Price £22 (no additional fees)
Setlist
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