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The glow of the red and yellow lights made the warm night seem summer-like. It set the tone for a great summer’s night of music as I walked into The Levee on Saturday night — and I was not disappointed.
There were about 35 or 40 people in the bar as Adam Baxter started off the night with the help of his acoustic guitar. Right from the beginning, his powerful voice was sending good vibes through the floor and up my spine. It’s obvious Adam gives a piece of himself to the crowd during every set he plays. You can see raw passion escape through his mouth and fingers as his love for music comes spewing out. Adam played his original songs for about 45 minutes and ended off his set with “Camping With Dad,” which gets a few laughs from the crowd. This tune repeats one line through the whole song, “I’m going camping with dad,” but switches “camping” to other verbs, like “kissing.”
There was a short break before Stone Rogues took the stage for their second show ever.
Six people made their way to the stage, some of them with instruments you don’t expect to see at a rock show: banjo, mandolin, accordion, fiddle and a bodhrán. I wasn’t expecting much from a band who has only played one show before, but luckily, I had greatly underestimated their ability. By the end of their first song, there wasn’t a steady foot in the bar. Everyone was tapping their feet or clapping along.
Even I was bouncing about, and I don’t dance. Ever.
Stone Rogues have taken songs would be labelled traditional Irish tunes, and have managed to include a pinch of metal and a pinch of punk to the mix, creating a combination of incredibly catchy music. By the end of their first set the whole bar was packed, and the dance floor was filled with people jumping about, and screaming along to a cover of Flogging Molly‘s “Drunken Lullabies.“
Both of their sets were filled with originals, as well as a different spin on a few familiar covers. Again, you would never know this was only their second show. The six of them work really well together, and handled themselves well. Most of the crowd didn’t even notice when there was an issue with the banjo when Allan grabbed a mandolin, picking up where he left off.
Another thing that made this band interesting was their lack of one ‘lead singer’. Every person in the band sang at some point throughout the set, and sang well. It gives them the freedom to try out different types of songs and have some slower tunes, such as Flogging Molly’s “Will I Ever Leave This World Alive”, thrown into the mix.
The bar became packed again when the second Stone Rogues set started, and while it was pretty warm that night, everyone was sweating but still wearing a smile on their face. Same goes for the band members as well, you can tell they really enjoy what they’re doing as they’re bouncing about on stage.
Everyone was in high spirits when leaving the show, including me.
http://thescope.ca/2009/06/show-review-stone-rogues-w-adam-baxter/ - Christa Cram - The Scope
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
An ignitable pedal board, a table full of Guinness, an edgy fiddle and the sullen six became Stone Rogues in the winter of 09. It was a long bitter season over many pints where lead guitar joined with Celtic instruments to push the traditional music not just farther…but over a cliff.
They are Newfoundlanders no doubt but a first glance betrays you into believing you’re hearing the working class from the Belfast factories rise up against unfair conditions. The laments are whiskey infused and the banjo leads you into trouble every time. These are Stone Rogues of St. John’s. Characters everyone.
Dalley, Merrigan, Zach, O’Brien, Ricketts and Nick are fourth generation Islanders. Rumour has it Merrigan’s family escaped the prisoner boats from South Eastern Ireland but the rest are pretty safe. The songs tell of angry icebergs in deadly seas, proud marching Newfoundlanders demanding independence. You can’t swing a cat of nine tails without hitting a banjo, accordion, fiddle or mandolin. Couple that with ear splitting electric solos, and a bottom end that can anchor Cabot Tower and this ain’t your Poppy’s trad tunes.
The new songwriting from the Rogues has been welded together with the jigs and reels pouring out of O’Brien’s Music store like two long-liners in a head on collision. It’s not Celtic Rock and it’s not traditional. It doesn’t really matter. Call it what you want. It’s our song to sing. It’s your chance to roar.
Stone Rogues debuted to a full house at The Republic just last month. Since that they’ve opened for ECMA nominated group, The Navigators and appeared on Out Of The Fog June 15, 2009. Recording their first demo in July, watch for the group on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and all great online time sucking sites with a full length CD in 2010.
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