Bobby Bare Jr. owned the house at his Undefeated album release party at Mercury Lounge in NYC on April. Celebrating his new record Undefeated, Bobby and his band—a drummer in a spandex skeleton suit and a keyboardist—did a straightforward set of tunes, old and new.
Opening the show with “The Terrible Sunrise”, the band started things off right, with intense guitar shredding and pounding percussion, before jumping into a massive sing-a-long of the mellow keyboard sounds of “I’ll be Around”, starring the audience in the “babababa ba ba” parts. Next up was another crowd favorite, “Jesus Sandals”, from 2010’s A Storm-A Tree-My Mother’s Head. Every glance around the crowd would reveal fans mouthing the words along with him to nearly every song.
Bobby Bare Jr. never fails to show up looking like a disheveled, norm-core dad, in comfy khakis and a button down, as well as a pair of slip-on shoes he took off before the first song even started. Let the man be comfortable; he doesn’t give a fuck; he’s just there to play music, and that’s why we love him.
He made no secret of the misery behind his new songs, telling the audience he has been writing sad songs in Nashville for so long that he was really looking forward to playing in New York. He seemed to be having an amazing time sharing his pain with the crowd, which included a very drunk couple celebrating their 12th anniversary, ironic as most of Bobby’s new tunes are breakup songs. But that’s the thing about seeing him live; he has so much fun on stage and loves playing his music, that it’s easy to forget the heartbreak he went through to bring it to us.
He confidently launched into some of his new songs, including “Big Time”, in which he satirized fame with a fabulous sense of humor, and the title track “Undefeated”. He never loses that self-deprecating sarcasm, and ultimately maintained his lovably cooky oddball persona throughout his performance, even sometimes adding corresponding choreography (“The Heart Bionic”).
Opener Cory Branan, the handsome Mississippi-bred singer-songwriter also on Bloodshot, joined Bobby and his band on stage for the popular Dr. Hook cover “Cover of the Rolling Stone”, adding a louder, more raucous sound with the addition of another guitar. And the good times continued with the BBJ favorite “Rock and Roll Halloween”, to which the crowd went wild and danced their asses off.
Fans yelled words of love and encouragement to Bobby throughout the evening, and it’s clear he, and his ego, appreciate it. The band finished off the set with “North of Alabama by Mornin’”, the first song off the new record, and definitely a kick-ass live number, closing out an amazing performance to a very satisfied crowd.
