Originally discovered busking outside a North Carolina pharmacy by the great Doc Watson, Old Crow Medicine Show have become one of the most beloved and unique bands in modern country music. With their blend of folk, Americana and bluegrass, they’ve wowed audiences around the world for 25 years, won Grammy Awards, become Grand Ole Opry members and showcased the talents of a rotating cast of incredible musicians. After a triumphant performance at this year’s C2C Festival and the release of their latest album ‘Jubilee’ this summer, now they’re back in the UK for a short tour celebrating their quarter century as a band, which kicked off last night at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith.
Arriving on stage around 8.30 PM, the seven-piece group opened their set with ‘Tell It To Me’ from their debut album. It’s a bright, bouncy number full of energy that instantly set the template for the rest of the night, with frontman Ketch Sechor delivering his trademark whoops and high kicks as he leapt about the stage with the audience loudly egging him on. I loved the growl he brought to his vocals and his harmonica playing – a strong thread throughout the evening – sounded great from the off, as did Cory Younts’ keyboard playing. Ketch finished with a leap from in front of the piano onto the stage and was rewarded with applause and cheers that practically took the roof off the place!
From there the band rattled through two hours worth of great music, including tracks from the new album. The lively ‘Belle Meade Cockfight’ gave guitarist Mason Via an early moment to show off his athleticism on stage with leaps and bounds (literally) and I loved ‘The Ballad of Jubilee Jones’ with its sea shanty-esque harmonies. Elsewhere, the seasonally appropriate ‘Wolfman Of The Ozarks’ – mashed up with Warren Zevon’s ‘Werewolves Of London’ – featured some impressive rapid-fire fiddle playing from Ketch and a blood-chilling open howl from Cory, whilst ‘One Drop’ showed off the group’s gospel influences as they harmonised together whilst crowded around a vintage microphone on stage and the crowd clapped along.
Alongside the new music there was also plenty for long-time OCMS fans to like, including a slew of their trademark covers. Whether it was a playful take on ‘Great Balls Of Fire’, the rollicking ‘Honky Tonk Women’ or their fiery rendition of ‘Proud Mary’, the group really put their own spin on these familiar songs and made them completely their own. It takes real skill to do that and I love that they can keep things fresh and entertaining in this way, particularly as many in the crowd were likely to have seen them at C2C as well. However, my absolute favourite of the covers was Mason Via’s version of George Jones’s ‘White Lightnin”, which featured a wicked yell and saw him dropping to his knees after spinning around the stage before seamlessly going into The Champs’ classic ‘Tequila’ and having a dance off with Ketch! It’s become one of his signature performances and I hope it remains in their set for many shows to come.
That said, the band weren’t afraid to embrace their musical history either, with songs like audience favourite ‘Alabama High Test’ showcasing their harmonies and ‘Methamphetamine’ featuring a wicked guitar lick that worked brilliantly for its lonesome, twangy cautionary tale of a lyric. Meanwhile, ‘Carry Me Back To Virginia’ highlighted Cory’s skills as a banjo player before the band’s swinging ‘Lord Willin’ And The Creek Don’t Rise’, whilst the cheeky, light-hearted ‘8 Dogs 8 Banjos’ saw Mason pull out his best ‘floss’ dance move! There were some impressive vocals on display too, particularly from new band member Dante Pope on ‘CC Rider’ and an incredible note from Ketch who belted out his version of ’16 Tons’.
One thing that stood out to me in March was the band’s banter and connection with each other on stage, and that was definitely on show last night as well, with Ketch reminiscing about their first trip to London 20 years ago and appearing on Jools Holland’s show (and showing off his best impression!). He also got briefly confused between Sundowners and EastEnders in the intro to ‘Caroline’ – before some very impressive multitasking playing the banjo and harmonica at the same time – and offered a crate of Special Brew as the ‘prize’ for winning an audience dance-off to ‘Buffalo Gals’. I also loved all the references they threw in to the UK on songs such as ‘Take ‘Em Away’, which gave Mike Harris his moment to shine. It’s clear they’ve taken the UK audience’s response to them very much to heart and find it incredibly touching, frequently breaking off to take people for coming out, and that feeling is definitely mutual as far as I can tell.
However, for many fans – including myself – the absolute highlight was when the band brought out their opening artist and former Old Crow member Willie Watson to join them on songs like the high-energy, defiant ‘Fall On My Knees’, ‘Tear It Down’ (which saw some very impressive upside down bass playing from Morgan Jahnig!) and ‘Miles Away’, which provided a mellow, soulful of calm in the set with its warm lyrics about reconnecting with old friends. Watching Ketch and Willie banter and bounce off each other was a really lovely moment and showed just how much regard they hold each other in still. They ended the main set with – what else? – ‘Wagon Wheel’, which had the entire room up on their feet dancing and singing along at top volume and would have been an absolutely brilliant finale on its own.
For their three-song encore, the band kicked off with the traditional, upbeat ‘Hard To Tell’ which saw Ketch and Willie getting their chops round their tongue-twister lyrics absolutely effortlessly, before going into a soaring performance of the classic ‘The Weight’ by The Band. They finished the show with a round of band intros and a rendition of ‘I Saw The Light’ that got the whole crowd joining in. It was such an uplifting note to end on and sent everyone away on a real wave of euphoria.
Old Crow Medicine Show gave themselves a very tough act to follow after their C2C set, but they absolutely delivered in spades. Their energy on stage – particularly from Ketch and Mason – was absolutely through the roof, their harmonies were as tight as ever and there’s absolutely no doubt that they’re one of the most incredibly musically talented acts out there in any genre. The whole evening was an utter joy from start to finish and I’m hoping that they live up to Ketch’s promise that “you’ll see us again sometime soon”! If you’re lucky enough to be seeing them in Glasgow or Manchester, you’re in for an absolute treat.
Set list: 1. Tell It To Me 2. Alabama High Test 3. Belle Meade Cockfight 4. Proud Mary (Tina Turner cover) 5. Carry Me Back To Virginia 6. Lord Willin’ And The Creek Don’t Rise 7. Great Balls Of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis cover) 8. Take ‘Em Away 9. Dixie Avenue 10. White Lightnin’ (George Jones cover) 11. Tequila (The Champs cover) 12. Caroline 13. Methamphetamine 14. Buffalo Gals 15. 8 Dogs 8 Banjos 17. Ballad of Jubilee Jones 18. 16 Tons 19. CC Rider 20. Wolfman Of The Ozarks/Werewolves Of London (Warren Zevon cover) 21. One Drop 22. Honky Tonk Women (Rolling Stones cover) 23. Fall On My Knees (with Willie Watson) 24. Miles Away (with Willie Watson) 25. Wagon Wheel (with Willie Watson) Encore: 26. Hard To Tell (with Willie Watson) 27. The Weight (The Band cover) (with Willie Watson) 28. I Saw The Light (made famous by Hank Williams) (with Willie Watson)
