Jamestown Revival – Tuning Fork October 18, 2015

I was expecting to see a couple of guys with acoustic guitars harmonizing about idyllic life in the mountains…sort of John Denver x 2. Instead Jamestown Revival showed up as a five-piece rockin’ band ready to show off their arsenal of Texas roadhouse tunes and, yes, some fine harmonies.

This show is part of the Tuning Fork’s Americana Fest and the Sunday evening got an early start with Kiwi crooners Devilish Mary & The Holy Rollers. The band serves as a showcase for Anita Clark’s smoky, retro-fitted voice.

With the mood suitable set, Jamestown Revival took the stage at 9pm. The two primary member are Jonathan Clay and Zach Chance. Clay is blessed with classic good looks with a singing voice to match. Meanwhile Zach has the bad-boy look that is probably equally appealing. Chance sat centre stage behind his keyboard, while Clay stood next to him sporting an acoustic guitar.

The duo was accompanied by electric guitarist Brad Lindsay, bass player Nick Bearden and drummer Ed Benrock. They got right down to business with the rockabilly-flavoured Fur Coat Blues, the lead tack from their debut album, Utah. Jonathan and Zach’s voices blended beautifully and the band rocked with confidence.

Lindsay then showed off his slide guitar skills on Revival, with Zach leading the charge on vocals and Jonathan joining in soon after.

The band has just the one album to their name, but they look to have a number of songs ready for the follow-up. One of them is Company Man, a rollicking reaction against “the man”. Another is Done Me Wrong. As Jonathan explained to the crowd, he wrote the song after his buddy Zach was dumped by the TV actress he was dating at the time. Fortunately Jonathan had his back and the two sang the song with the gusto it demanded.

Clay proved he was no slouch on the slide guitar, pulling up a chair to sit and play a National during Wandering Man, a song the two wrote about their early days sleeping in truck stops.

The boys have one foot in country/folk and one in rock & roll and that was evident in the covers they chose. They turned in a heartfelt performance of John Prine’s Paradise about halfway through the set and closed out the evening with a slinky version of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Born On The Bayou.

All of the musicians proved worthy of the stage, but a special mention should go to bass player Nick Bearden who played some wonderfully melodic lines and had a great tone. Plus, he looked like he was having a ball playing the entire time he was on stage.

After new song Trouble Is, the duo went acoustic for the lovely Medicine, before diving into an extended version of their “hit”, California (Cast Iron Soul) which found the band really getting a chance to play.

It was a fantastic night of rootsy, Americana music that rock harder and had much more heart than I was expecting to hear…a perfect way to spend a Sunday night.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery of Devils Mary & The Holy Rollers and Jamestown Revival by Trevor Villers:

Jamestown Revival set list:

1. Fur Coat Blues
2. Revival
3. Company Man
4. Golden Age
5. Wandering Man
6. Done Me Wrong
7. Paradise
8. Trouble Is
9. Medicine
10. California (Cast Iron Soul)
11. Head On
12. Born On The Bayou