Music / folk
Review: Rusty Shackle, Thekla
After soaking up the rays with a fresh drink on King Street, it was time to head to the Thekla which was opening its doors early for an evening that promised some serious toe-tapping. The Rumble, a garage rock band from the Forest of Dean, kick-started the night with panache and acted as an audience magnet for the main act of the night. When the Rusty Shackle entered the stage, the boat was full of dance ready people. The band, composed of six members – mostly multi-instrumentalists, were formed in 2010 in Caldicot, Wales and have reached #2 in the Itunes Singer Songwritter charts with their album “Hounds of Justice”. The band, who proclaimed themselves as “dirty bluegrass folk’n’rollers”, have recorded three albums and “Dusk” is their latest baby, released in March last year.
The band was on the boat, not only to perform their new songs but to play some old ones for the fans. The set started with “Down to the Valley” with an explosive introduction, no better way to get the crowd going. It was imposing to see the five members all lined up on the small stage, with the drummer appearing at times behind the solid wall of Welsh men. The lead singer Liam Collins impressed with his powerful voice, with a phrasing that sometimes resembled Jake Bugg or Alex Turner.
The venue started to get warm after the audience joined the band in a singalong on the folky “Cold Hearted Town” and the beautiful and lively “Moving On”. By the time they sang “Lucinda”, a rock song quite far from their usual folk rootsy sound, people were jumping. The band covered Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” and Bloodhound Gang’s “Bad Touch” and made them their own by adding a pinch of Celtic sound, with the fiddle always interacting with the guitars and the trumpet. The musicians came back for an Encore with the two mood-lifting and catchy “Rosy Lee” and “3 AM”, songs that echo the style of Mumford & Sons, with the cheerful banjo backboning the pieces. It was easy, when closing my eyes, to picture a road trip through the wilds of Wales or sipping a drink around a campfire on the beach.
Rusty Shackle delivered an authentic hour and a half set during which the audience didn’t stop dancing, singing or smiling. They convey a contagious energy mixed with a real “feel good” vibe. Ninety minutes flew by – I could have listened to them for another hour! Thekla, with its swashbuckling atmosphere and on point acoustics, was the best venue for this gig. All the toe-tapping, jumping and dancing could have sunk it that Friday night!
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