The Record Company played a two night sold out run in NYC last week at Rough Trade and the Bowery Ballroom. Both nights started off strong with a great performance from the warm up band, Muddy Magnolias – a Nashville soul/rock outfit fronted by two strong-voiced female vocalists Jessy Wilson & Kallie North. They dominated the stage and seemed to lean into every note as though they were striding into a strong wind. The two singers were supported by a twangy alt-country guitar, a bassist and the happiest drummer you have ever seen. Their songs had elements of soul, gospel, rock, folk and alt-country, but what set them apart were the voices, energy and stage command of the two lead singers. The biggest disappointment was that their set was limited to 35 minutes.
After a short turn-around, The Record Company burst on stage with lead guitarist, Chris Vos, emphatically announcing, “We are the Record Company and we play rock and roll!” before launching into “On the Move” – a bluesy tune full of screaming harmonica, big bass lines and rock and roll energy. The rest of the night followed from there with a string of big-bottomed, rock and roll tunes full of emotion, power and solid musicianship. Vos brought seven guitars and switched guitars on every song.
The band is impressively perplexing. One of the first questions you are struck by is how can so much sound come from just three musicians? Next you find yourself wondering what makes this blues rock trio so special. A big part of that is bassist Alex Stiff who mixes improvised fills in with catchy bass lines to take the songs to a new level. This is all made possible by the steady drumming of Marc Cazorla who holds down the bottom end by spending a great deal of time on the floor tom.
They played all originals save a shout out to Brooklyn, “So What’cha Want” by The Beastie Boys. All in all, they played most of the songs off their record “Give It Back to You” which walked the fine line of being true to the recording while adding a dimension that a live show requires.
The band is a must see if they come to your town – catch them before they are playing arenas.
