Tuesday, 15 November 2016

A View From The Back Of The Room: The Cadillac Three (Live Review By Paul)

The Cadillac Three, 02 Academy, Bristol

I'm not sure whether Southern rock has undergone a resurgence of late or whether it has always been welcomed with open arms in the U.K. The success of Georgia’s Blackberry Smoke, Texans Whisky Myers and associated acts has demonstrated that this genre is currently in rude health. A very busy 02 Academy supported this theory as Nashville trio The Cadillac Three rolled into Bristol in support of their second album Bury Me In My Boots.

It's rare that a support band totally grabs you by the bollocks and doesn't let go until they've finished but by god, Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown (9) did just that. A 45 minute set that just oozed quality, Tyler Bryant and his band really got a very cool Academy smoking hot. Playing a range of tracks from their latest release Wayside and 2013’s debut Wild Child Bryant, guitarist Graham Whitfield, bassist Noah Denny and crazy drummer Caleb Crosby demonstrated a maturity far beyond Bryant’s age as they rocked out from the beginning. Their set was superbly paced, building in intensity to a crescendo which had the crowd baying for more. Big things will surely happen for this incredibly talented young man and his band.

With such a storming opening, The Cadillac Three (7) had their work cut out. They started brightly with I'm Southern igniting the capacity crowd. Unfortunately in my opinion, the recent spike in their popularity has given a degree of arrogance which detracts from the quality musicianship of the band. Frontman Jaren Johnson’s preference for spitting was particularly unpleasant and whilst his southern drawl is the ideal fit for the band's music, his slovenly attitude at times diminished the appeal substantially. The band have promoted themselves as a hard drinking outfit and they appeared to revel in this, with drummer Neil Mason swigging from a bottle of bourbon throughout the show.

Despite this the band have some great songs with Bury Me In My Boots, Tennessee Mojo and White Lightening all making an appearance and receiving a rapturous reception. However as the set progressed I found my attention wandering somewhat, the pace in the middle of the set dropping off quite noticeably. Interest was rekindled with a superb Peace, Love & Dixie, set closer Days Of Gold and the first encore, a smashing cover of Tom Petty’s Honey Bee, complete with Tyler and the Shakedown. Overall though, The Cadillac Three, enjoyable as they were just didn't impress as much as expected. A huge reception from the crowd suggested that once again I'm in the minority. There again, lots of people think that The Dead Daisies are good and it's a fact that they are dreadful maybe I'm right after all.

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