The Bros Landreth

They were fantastic...also, very nice young men...definitely going places...

24 hours after I went on break, would you believe it, the announced they were starting their UK tour a day early to squeeze in a special request show at Ashington (where half of the band has already played solo slots..).

Managed this morning to get my tickets (after a bit nervous sweating), can report [to those in my vicinity] as of 11am today,  only 11 tickets remain for what promises to be a gig of sheer class....

The album  '87 is available pre-order now for despatch 27th Sept. There's a special edition CD, hardbound with 36 page booklet at about $20 or coloured vinyl plus various bundles.

Since I managed a ticket by the proverbial skin, I hope to get a signed one from the band on the night.

Edit - 5th Sept - now SOLD OUT

It's with a heavy heart that my beloved band, The Bros. Landreth, have fallen victim to the sophomore blues syndrome.

'87 simply pales next to their outstanding first release, nor even to Joey Landreth's solo efforts.  The songs have a recycled feel to them and the one song that's pretty darn good might get challenged in court by the Lowell George estate.

It was shaping up to be one of those nights; cold, wet, inky-black; like the insides of a dead cat. The first and welcome sign of succour in the town was the twinkling green neon of The Old Ash Dene where we availed ourselves of the pizza-night fayre.

Refreshed and sated, it was a short walk back down to The White House where a warmer welcome awaited and we took our seats for probably the most hotly anticipated gig of the year, Joey Landreth was back in town, by his own insistence and he brought the whole Bros. Landreth band along as a special (and deserved) thank you not only to organiser Mike Slaughter but to the fans in the town for their consistent support. There’s so much love and respect for Joey and the band, I wouldn’t be surprised next time I’m in town if there’s a statue of him in the shopping precinct on Station Rd where Jackie Milburn’s used to stand…

So, once seated, and Mike Slaughter’s customery welcome, the evening got off to a fine start with a warm-up set by young Canadian singer/songwriter Liam Duncan making his UK debut. And a fine first impression he made, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, he did a set of self-described sad songs from his debut album and upcoming EP as well as a fine cover of Springsteen’s Highway 29 (from the Tom Joad album). Just to highlight the strength of Liam’s performance; not only was he the opener for the evening, he was also the keyboard player for the Bros. (And when I say the Bros. I don’t mean a certain pair of twins on the comeback trail.)

And what of the Manitoba siblings? What else can you say other than absolute class from start to finish. I mean, earlier in the year I near raved about Joey’s solo show, but fill out the band to a four-piece using Liam’s keyboards was one thing, but the real lift was with the fraternal harmonies coming from Davy Landreth, doubling on bass guitar. I don’t think I’m pushing the boat out here if I make a CSN comparison. This peaked mid-set when Davy, Joey & Liam did a couple of songs including Salvation Bound near acapella round a condenser microphone. While the harmonies were a big part of the sound, a lot came down to the magic that is Joey’s work on the slide guitar and the dual he had with Liam’s piano work on Got To Be You was bayou rock heaven; swear there were catfish swimming between the tables..

No prizes, the set was a blend of their two albums, the newer ‘87 and their debut, the classic Let It Lie and because somehow, these Canadian maestro can condense so much musical quality into so concise albums, nobody objected to the band running through Cryin’ from Joey’s Hindsight album, nor did they even demur Liam Duncan coming forward to do another song from his If I Don’t Feel Better album, this time with Bros. Landreth as his backing band.

Whether you call this Alt. Country or Folk Rock is up to you. The undeniable thing is that this deceptively easy-going style these guys have just oozes pure quality from start to finish - which comes all too soon. There are some folks thought it wouldn’t happen after Davy & Joey decided to put the band on hiatus around 2015,  and then there’s the booming ascendency of Joey’s solo career, with two cracking albums to his credit but that doesn’t mean the brothers stopped working together and this album and tour are the fruit of their regained perspective, this time with added confidence and experience.