The rockabilly crowd came out in droves to see JD McPherson and his band tear up the dance floor with their fiery, rock and roll grooves. at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on November 7. 2017. McPherson, ever the class act and with stellar stage presence, gave them and the rest of the packed room exactly what they wanted: an energetic, go for broke performance. His new record Undivided Heart and Soul takes him in a slightly more evolved sonic direction, with a more contemporary rock and roll sound than the retro sound of 2015’s Let the Good Times Roll. McPherson relocated to Nashville from Oklahoma before recording Undivided Heart and Soul, and there’s a feeling of discovery and trying on new identities in its songs that lends excitement to his live performance of them. You get a sense from watching him that he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.
McPherson, dressed in head to toe denim (a rock and roll uniform if ever there was one), came in hot with opener “Bossy”, off Let the Good Times Roll before launching into the new stuff, like the woozy “Desperate Love” and the soft, surf guitar groove “On the Lips”. McPherson’s smooth, soulful voice is stronger than ever on Undivided Heart and Soul and his confidence shows in his live show. Opener (and powerful vocalist herself) Nicole Atkins joined McPherson on stage for the title track off Undivided Heart and Soul – a treat, as she’s also featured with him on the record for this song.
The rest of the show was a straight shot of adrenaline, as McPherson had the audience swooning to “Hunting for Sugar”, and dancing nonstop to songs like “Caroline”, “Lucky Penny” (which the guys recently performed on Conan), “Crying’s Just a Thing That You Do” and “Head Over Heels”. By the time the encore came, the foot stomping and chanting brought the band back out in a flash. They shut it down with “Style (Is a Losing Game)”, “Bloodhound Rock”, “Wolf Teeth” and “Northside Gal”, and with sweat dripping down their faces, they took a well-deserved bow.
