The velvet-voiced Andrew Combs is a force of nature when it comes to his music. His new record All These Dreams is sweet, smooth, seventies-inspired alt-country, with just the right amount of grit, darkness and romance. At a recent performance at NYC’s Mercury Lounge, though, the soft-spoken Combs did not exude the confidence to match. It was a stellar performance, to be sure, but Combs zipped through his short set with little to say in between songs.
Not all artists have that charismatic stage presence, and though I’ve seen Combs be a bit more outgoing at past shows, he seemed incredibly nervous this night. He even admitted to the packed room that being in New York City stresses him out. When you’re coming from Nashville, that’s easy to understand. Nevertheless, his band was tight and his songs sounded divine.
Playing mostly songs off the new record, Combs opened with “Foolin’”, perhaps the catchiest track on Dreams. It sort of flows and soars, and is an ideal number to show off Combs’ vocal range. His voice was perfectly raspy and deep when it needed to be, like on “Pearl”, and then full-bodied and rich on others (“Suwannee” and “All These Dreams”).
The crowd loved his sound, and he’s clearly amassed a hearty following on the east coast. Folks shouted requests and whooped to make him feel more at ease. But Combs maintained his serious composure through more new ones like “Rainy Day” and the crowd favorite “Bad Habits”.
He peppered in a few older ones, too, like “Heavy”, “Too Stoned to Cry” and “Please, Please, Please” before ending on the tried and true sing-a-long “Emily”, which indeed had the crowd engaged and captivated. His encore was the unexpected “Slow Road to Jesus”, a track off the new record that’s quiet and dark, and left the audience on a haunting note.
Combs is a hell of a musician and singer, and his voice sounds even better live. An intimate venue like the Mercury Lounge was a fine setting to really drink it in, and he generously greeted his fans at his merch booth after the show. Though it would have been nice to hear him play for twice the amount of time they gave him, Combs made the most of his stage time. Maybe if he had spent more time chatting, we wouldn’t have gotten to hear so much of the new record.
Considering how much he’s grown just since his last album, it’s clear Combs is still coming into his own as a live performer a little more with each performance.
