Review: Vintage Trouble, The Marble Factory

Vintage Trouble started out at the Thekla, they moved up to the Bierkeller last year – and now they’ve sold out the Marble Factory. The band publicity promised ‘live-wired, straight-shootin’, dirty-mouth’d, pelvis-pushing juke music’. So, did they deliver?

Well, much like the Factory’s recent Hawkwind show, the sound was crisp and clear; the (admittedly partisan) crowd was primed and juiced, and the band were, as always, suited and booted – looking like a cross between the cast of Deadwood and a Stax photo shoot. And they delivered: an hour and a half of live-wired, straight-shootin’, dirty-mouth’d, pelvis-pushing juke music exactly as promised.

Ty Taylor remains the consummate frontman, somewhere between Muhammad Ali and James Brown and with vocal styling blending Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. He greeted the crowd familiarly, stating how pleased the band were to be back in Bristol with “…a lot of familiar faces and a lot of familiar smells…” Hmm, not quite sure about the latter…

The band is more than just a frontman though. The other guys played an equal part in delivering a pulse-raising vibe on the up-tempo numbers and real feel for the slower numbers (they’re no slouches with the backing vocals, either).

Nalle Colt deserves a special mention, though. Sure, Richard Danielson (drums) and Rick Barrio Dill (bass) provide a rock steady foundation, driving the songs with sinuous rhythms and a pounding dance beat, but whilst Nalle has the Steve Cropper staccato rhythmic thang down pat, he has way more to offer. Slide guitar bringing out the blues (and solos that bring Stevie Ray Vaughan to mind), riffs galore and even Scotty Moore rockabilly pickin’ that really does work well on top of a Motown groove.

Standout tunes from both the Bomb Shelter Sessions and the soon-come second recording made for a varied set – Angel City, California standing out along with Nobody Told Me and the apt Pelvis Pusher – and there was also an enormous cheer when Tyson announced that said second recording would finally be released in the summer. Whilst he emphasised the band’s policy of live first, studio second, I think the Troublemakers are gagging for the second studio set.

In fact, no VT review is complete without mentioning the band’s hardcore fan group, and the Troublemakers were in full effect throughout the gig. Even without the constant prompting from Tyson, the Troublesome choir made every song a sing-along, and there was plenty of pelvis pushin’ from all. The bond between band and TMs is stronger than ever – epitomised by the mid-set production of a cake for a TM attending her 100th show.

Fittingly, the band walked through the crowd after the encore heading for the merch, pens in hand for their typically fan-pleasing meet, greet and hangout with the gang that are more than fans and have played a major part in turning a VT show in to a revival meeting full of old friends from all over the world. And Sheffield.

Vintage Trouble played The Marble Factory on Saturday, March 28. For more Marble Factory lineups, visit www.marblefactorybristol.com

Pic: Kerry Langford