Good Ole Boys
Folk Fun Shines Through
People everywhere are in love with Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance. Or shall we say women and girls everywhere. Typically it isn’t our style to go straight into sex appeal, we usually drop that in the third paragraph, but when stepping through the audience before Jon and Clay took the stage, it was utterly apparent the majority of the audience was made up of women—this is in no way a criticism, merely a statement of fact.
Now let’s discuss some music. This is the first major headlining tour for Jamestown Revival, and fresh off of a weekend at Bonnaroo, the Texas boys came way to New York City in a white prison van (more on this later) battling the tests of a road tour. On this Wednesday evening, the Highline Ballroom was swarming with people. And despite our opening, there were males in attendance as well. From the get, what surprised us, was how familiar the crowd was with their songs, especially considering their debut album Utah dropped in February. The fellas went through a song or two, before playing “Fur Coat Blues,” and then awoke the city that never sleeps from it’s slumber.
In the awakening, one could tell Jon and Clay are more than just brothers in harmony. Their energy feeds off each other, whether it be with a glance in the moment, or the playing of a certain note that triggers the other to turn it up a notch, the comfort they share as a tandem gets picked up by the audience, creating a genuine environment for the music to hit. They were working hard on this evening, breaking a sound monitor five minutes into the show. They get down people.
Another element of surprise, was Jamestown Revival’s lead guitarist. We’re unsure of his name, but Mr. Not Quite Anonymous certainly does not lack tremendous talent. It’s quite the opposite, he exudes a type of life blood that adds a high tempoed folky layer of rock which forces people to move their feet. It must be his swag. Not to be outdone, with Nick Bearden on the Bass and Ed Benrock, Jamestown Revival’s outfit is rounded out in solid fashion.
Their musical pedigree is on point as well, in several ways. Going back to the white prison van, if Jamestown Revival are criminals, it’s only to the Desperate Housewives and their daughters who’s hearts they broke. But really though, the transmission of their tour bus busted in the middle of the night, forcing them to pick up the van to finish the Boston to NYC leg of the tour. But those are the breaks and the hiccup didn’t phase them in the least, as they made it to the venue with more than enough time to rock it out. In the middle of all this, they covered Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Born on the Bayou,” ensuring that all were still having a great time.
They closed out the night with “California (Cast Iron Soul),” a song about moving from Texas to California and how wordly forces create change in our lives. Jon disclosed that he was losing his voice and apologized for that affecting his performance. None of that mattered, as neither the average nor above average listener would have been able to tell. But what we learned on this particular evening, was that boys of Jamestown Revival enjoy their fun in the midst of working hard, that tour bus or not, nothing stops them when the going gets tough, and that if you have one ounce of soul in that vessel of yours—their music is for you.
Click here for our exclusive interview with these folk up and comers.
Writer + Photographer | Rene Ramirez
