With smoke and sweat, Vintage Trouble brings its retro soul to St. Petersburg

October 15, 2015 Chyrisse Tabone, Ph.D. Live Review, USA

By Chyrisse Tabone, Tampa Correspondent

Venue: State Theatre, St. Petersburg, Florida-October 14, 2015–Vintage Trouble and support by Greg Holden

Having spent my formative years in Detroit with young, hip parents who bought all of the latest LPs, I heard a lot of Motown and 60s funk as early as I can remember. There has been nothing like James Brown, Ray Charles, Otis Redding, or Sam and Dave in 45 years—until now. Vintage Trouble seems to be all about revival and preservation of the 50s and 60s soul music, similar to the British Invasion blues revival in the 1960s.  I find it really refreshing to hear music composed in the Millennium, which could have easily been played in a dark, musty basement corner bar beneath a building on Woodward Avenue in Detroit.

Vintage Trouble (VT), which was formed by friends in California approximately five years ago, have produced three albums (The Bomb Shelter Sessions-2011; Swing House Acoustic Sesssions-2014; and 1 Hopeful Rd.-2015). Their career exploded after appearing in a popular UK show Later…with Jools Holland which prompted multiple tours with the likes of Joss Stone, The Who, Bon Jovi, and this summer, AC/DC. This summer, VT played to a crowd of 100,000 people in Vienna. My pal Matthias Hombauer took the photos and the sheer massive crowd looked like one would see during a European protest. I cannot imagine how intense a concert like that must have been!

Rock At Night (RAN) was fortunate to see Vintage Trouble at the Hyde Park Summertime Festival this June in London and now RAN was able to see them in St. Petersburg, Florida, which is in the vicinity of bass player Rick Barrio Dill’s stomping ground. On Tuesday night all of the “Troublemakers” (the affectionate term for VT fans) gathered at the State Theatre, a historic brick building in downtown, for an evening of juke joint R&B.

The opening act for the evening was Greg Holden, a Scottish-born New York transplant, with his indie-folk rock set that used both electric and acoustic guitars. Holden was introduced to the audience by VT lead singer, Ty Taylor, who touted Holden’s musicianship. Holden has had a couple of hits like “The Lost Boy” which was featured in the Sons of Anarchy and “Home”. His music had an indie-coffee-shop vibe and the singing was really soulful. Songs like “Hold On Tight” almost had a Dylan-esque feeling. Holden encouraged the audience to sing along with choruses to the songs and many were clapping, smiling, and singing by the end of the set. After hearing Holden and the band, I will definitely be seeking out his music.

The crowd was standing room only and the balcony was full of Troublemakers waiting for the party to begin. The set was simple—the usual Oriental rug and instruments on a stage with the VT logo as a backdrop. Finally, the band emerged wearing three-piece suits, white shirts, and ties. Nalle Colt and Barrio Dill wore pork-pie hats. Danielson had a puffy white-sleeved shirt and arm bands like a casino dealer. Taylor wore a grey glen plaid suit and vintage-style, pointed toe shoes. The whole time I thought, “How are they going to play a set in a hot Florida club with all that clothing?”

From the get-go, Taylor belted out songs like “High Things (They Are Coming) and “Blues Hand Me Down” while leaping, spinning, reaching out into the audience, and even diving onto the audience. He later jumped into the audience while singing and made his way up to the top of the balcony (while still singing) to shake hands and connect with the audience. One could see Taylor was truly enjoying himself and working up a sweat. He was pretty soaked by the end of the evening from all the intense aerobic dancing.

All of the musicians were connected and in the “the zone”. They were tight and in form.   During the evening they invited a friend, Ronnie Dees of The Super Stars, on the stage. He played a vintage saxophone, which really added to the set.

During the evening Danielson wailed on the drums, Barrio Dill plucked the bass strings like there is no tomorrow. I especially liked Colt’s slide guitar on my favorite songs of the evening “Run Like the River”.

Throughout the evening, the audience clapped, sang along, danced, bopped, and grooved. It really brought me back in time. A simple time. And it felt good.

After the concert, the band graciously signed autographs and posed with fans. They definitely have a loyal following—and I can see why. The band puts on one helluva’ show! I have a feeling they will soon be a household name.

Members: Ty Taylor – Vocals Nalle Colt – Guitar Rick Barrio Dill – Bass Richard Danielson – Drums; Genre: rhythm & blues, soul, rock, blues; Home Town: Los Angeles

PHOTO GALLERY

Vintage Trouble

Vintage Trouble
Vintage Trouble
Vintage Trouble

 

Greg Holden

Greg Holden

VIDEOS

“Doin’What You Were Doin'”

“Run Like the River”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsoGZdE-hKE

 

A Snippet from St. Pete

 

For more on Vintage Trouble check out:

Website–Greg Holden

Facebook

 

The images may not be reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written permission to Rock At Night and the photographer. Use of any image is a violation of the United States and International Copyright laws.

Chyrisse Tabone, Ph.D.
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4 Comments

  3. The Sax player’s name is Ronnie Dee who has his own local band, The Superstars. He is the son of Joey Dee of Joey Dee and The Starlighters (Peppermint Twist, others)

  4. Thanks for the information, guys! I will put in Ronnie’s name. I loved the addition of the sax to the set.

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