Country singer J.P. Harris and rock and roller JD McPherson are each criminally underrated artists within their respective genres. So, despite playing different styles, it seems fitting that such high caliber artists would hit the road together. On Thursday, April 4, they both played the second of two sold out shows at Mississippi Studios in Portland, Oregon.
With maybe the finest beard in all of country music, J.P. Harris is a striking presence. It makes sense that he immortalized himself on the cover of his new album Sometimes Dogs Bark at Nothing, which came out late last year. With a commanding voice seemingly made for singing country, J.P. kicked off with some of his older tunes as he offered his take on the “honky tonk lifestyle” with “Badly Bent”, “Two For the Road”, “South Oklahoma”, and the loose and lively trucker tune “Gear Jammin’ Daddy”. These songs showcased J.P. and his band’s hard country credentials, while new songs like “When I Quit Drinking” and “Runaway” found him balancing his own confessionals with a more easygoing sound. The audience reacted by grooving along and soaking up the twangy tunes, basking in the presence of a real, tried and true country music artist. J.P. was also backed by a tight-as-hell band who added plenty of pedal steel, choogling guitar solos, and in-the-pocket bass to each song.
JD McPherson’s most recent release was his fabulous Christmas album Socks, but he hardly needs a reason to tour. His set would instead be a tour de force of his whole catalogue with a focus on keeping the energy high and the party going. Kicking things off with the shuffling 50s-style rocker “Fire Bug”, JD and his band had the crowd dancing right out of the gate as they jumped into the swampy blues tune “I Can’t Complain” and the heavy doo wop romper “Desperate Love”. The infectious rockabilly swagger of “Crying’s Just a Thing That You Do” was a proper pill to shallow before the swooning and spunky “Under the Spell of City Lights”. JD’s 2015 album Let The Good Times Role would be featured prominently throughout the set, with more rocking material like “Head Over Heels”, “You Must Have Met Little Caroline”, “Mother of Lies”, and “Bossy” all making appearances.
Part of the appeal of JD McPherson and his band is that they aren’t just a bunch of music nerds, although they are definitely scholarly in their knowledge of music. These cats talk the talk and walk the walk, and each member takes a smooth-as-hell approach to playing music. In Portland, they were about as well-oiled as any band could be, keeping a flawless groove throughout their set. By the time they closed out with the Chuck Berry-esque “Bloodhound Rock” segueing aptly into the boogie woogie “Wolf Teeth”, and finally bringing it all home with the loose and rowdy “Scandalous”, they had transformed Mississippi Studios into a full on 50s rock club.
Photos by Greg Homolka.
