Whiskey swillin’,
hell raisin’, rabble rousers!
This is Charleston’s The Royal Tinfoil, a vaudeville troupe of musical mavericks boasting some of the finest talent that this town has to offer. Their debut record, Well Water Communion, easily stands as one of the iconic pieces of Charleston’s modern music history, but if you haven’t seen this band play live, then you’re missing out on half of the experience. Their recent show at the Pour House was their last performance of the year*, ending 2012 with a blood boiling bang.
Opening for the Tinfoil was The Whiskey Gentry (Atlanta), a finger pickin’ Dixie roadhouse act, fronted by the married duo Lauren Staley (vox + guitar) and Jason Morrow (lead guitar + backing vox). The Gentry kicked off their inaugural Charleston appearance with a rafter-rattling original, making the Charlie Daniels Band seem like amateur hour at an open mic night. Staley’s voice is stunning in its purity and pretty innocence, crisp as the country night sky, channeling the likes of Connie Francis and Loretta Lynn. Fiddle player Rurik Nunan and mandolinist Michael Smith played with a captivating fury, while Sam Griffin’s electric bass nailed down the pace, running clean lines up and down the long fret board.
The band coalesced with a tightness and technical precision usually reserved for the gears of clockwork. When Smith broke into an electrifying mandolin solo, the other members of the band turned on the stage to watch his fingers fly; when Nunan took to the mic to lead a cover of Steeldrivers’ “Guitars, Whiskey, Guns and Knives”, his smooth, rich voice was met with not only applause from the crowd, but also whoops and cheers from his band mates.
Absent from the Pour House line up was the Gentry’s banjo and accordion player, but the band more than made do with its jangly guitars and jaunty fiddle work on original tunes like “Hard to Find” and “Queen of My Heart”.
“We need some help on this next song,” Staley said, inviting the crowd to sing along before the Gentry broke into a raucous rendition of their tune “Comrade”. Opening with several bars reminiscent of a Russian wedding song (think “Deer Hunter”), “Comrade” quickly escalated into a foot stomping, drum kit thrashing wash of sound, barreling along like a runaway train. “Preacher’s Daughter” is a powerful tune that not only showcased Staley’s strength and control, but her lyrical prowess, as well. “Eula Mae” plays out like a Dust Bowl revival song, combining the best of the Gentry’s swift string plucking with Staley’s vocal range, as she effortlessly scaled the song to reach the higher notes. The band wrapped their sweet honky tonk performance with an unlikely (but well done) cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”, leaving the crowd revved up and ready for the return of The Royal Tinfoil.
Opening their set with the finger snapping “Rat on a Wheel”, it was immediately clear why this show from The Royal Tinfoil had been in such high demand - and why the Pour House was a packed house. Captivating lead singer, Lily Slay, has a smoky vocal style that is as commanding as it is authentic, lending itself well to the gypsy jazz, speakeasy vibe that The Tinfoil has so craftily cultivated. Complementing Slay is the wild-haired Mackie Boles (vox + guitar), whose impassioned stare is matched only by his startling, gripping voice. Brad Edwardson’s upright bass is a powder keg of sound, thumping as steadily as a metronome but ready to explode, while Tim Edgar’s harmonica crackles like a raging campfire.
The Tinfoil swung through tunes from their album, including the uptempo “Bitter Pill” and “Die Already”, as well as a fistful of rocking new songs. Friend of the band and fellow Charleston musician Rachel Kate Gillon, who had performed earlier in the evening at a festival downtown, even joined the stage for a selection of songs. The steadfast and energetic performance was dotted with introductions, anecdotes, whiskey and dedications, with Slay at one point calling up the house lights to peruse the crowd.
“Whiskey goggles aside,” she smirked, “y’all are real good lookin’.”
The band confidently pounded through their set, descending with the darkness of the night into the meatier, circus psychology of their cache. They played with a stylized heaviness, the burning, carnal guitar and Slay’s husky tone like something organic and wild, but far from uncontrolled – rock n roll with a tortured, vagabond soul. Singing of liquor and hand grenades, sweet siren songs, ghost towns and a lost lover’s impending death, The Royal Tinfoil evoke an eerie excitement, a feeling that something is lurking in the shadows just beyond the light. The boogieman is real, and on this damp night he took center stage as Boles crept into “Stalker vs. Stalker”, a perfectly sleazy doom tune with clever lyrics and a lurking bass line.
Dripping with sweat and rife with fervor, Boles then began to recant the Tinfoil’s tale of gypsy sex and she-wolves with the introduction to “Theme from Muscadine”. The crowd erupted as he spoke, his throaty voice a mash up of Tom Waits and Dr. Teeth, leading the Tinfoil like a side show ringmaster. After the song’s final cry of “Mother fuckin’ Tinfoil!” had been bellowed out, the band was joined again by Rachel Kate and members of The Whiskey Gentry, along with local singer Jordan Igoe, for a sweat flinging, hand clapping encore of “The Wretched Curse of Fools”. It was cut off time, but neither the band nor the crowd was ready for the night to end.
“Do you guys want one more song?” Slay beckoned. “Well I threw my pick in the air as some grand gesture, and now it’s gone. That’s my flair for drama,” she laughed, and then drove the band into a fiery version of Ween’s “It’s Gonna Be a Long Night”.
Captivating and complicated, ballsy, passionate and raw, The Royal Tinfoil is everything that rock n roll was ever meant to be. It triggers something deep within, exorcising the demons of inhibition and providing the listener with a freedom that people all too often do not afford themselves.
And if that doesn’t get your bones a’ rattling, then you simply do not have a soul.
* Correction: The Royal Tinfoil will play at Home Team BBQ (Sullivan's Island) on Dec. 30th ($5) and Dec. 31st ($12 adv/$15 dos).
The Royal Tinfoil on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheRoyalTinfoil
The Royal Tinfoil on ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/theroyaltinfoil
Twitter: @TheRoyalTinfoil
The Whiskey Gentry on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheWhiskeyGentry
The Whiskey Gentry on ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/thewhiskeygentry
Twitter: @WhiskeyGentry
.pr.
This is Charleston’s The Royal Tinfoil, a vaudeville troupe of musical mavericks boasting some of the finest talent that this town has to offer. Their debut record, Well Water Communion, easily stands as one of the iconic pieces of Charleston’s modern music history, but if you haven’t seen this band play live, then you’re missing out on half of the experience. Their recent show at the Pour House was their last performance of the year*, ending 2012 with a blood boiling bang.
Opening for the Tinfoil was The Whiskey Gentry (Atlanta), a finger pickin’ Dixie roadhouse act, fronted by the married duo Lauren Staley (vox + guitar) and Jason Morrow (lead guitar + backing vox). The Gentry kicked off their inaugural Charleston appearance with a rafter-rattling original, making the Charlie Daniels Band seem like amateur hour at an open mic night. Staley’s voice is stunning in its purity and pretty innocence, crisp as the country night sky, channeling the likes of Connie Francis and Loretta Lynn. Fiddle player Rurik Nunan and mandolinist Michael Smith played with a captivating fury, while Sam Griffin’s electric bass nailed down the pace, running clean lines up and down the long fret board.
The band coalesced with a tightness and technical precision usually reserved for the gears of clockwork. When Smith broke into an electrifying mandolin solo, the other members of the band turned on the stage to watch his fingers fly; when Nunan took to the mic to lead a cover of Steeldrivers’ “Guitars, Whiskey, Guns and Knives”, his smooth, rich voice was met with not only applause from the crowd, but also whoops and cheers from his band mates.
Absent from the Pour House line up was the Gentry’s banjo and accordion player, but the band more than made do with its jangly guitars and jaunty fiddle work on original tunes like “Hard to Find” and “Queen of My Heart”.
“We need some help on this next song,” Staley said, inviting the crowd to sing along before the Gentry broke into a raucous rendition of their tune “Comrade”. Opening with several bars reminiscent of a Russian wedding song (think “Deer Hunter”), “Comrade” quickly escalated into a foot stomping, drum kit thrashing wash of sound, barreling along like a runaway train. “Preacher’s Daughter” is a powerful tune that not only showcased Staley’s strength and control, but her lyrical prowess, as well. “Eula Mae” plays out like a Dust Bowl revival song, combining the best of the Gentry’s swift string plucking with Staley’s vocal range, as she effortlessly scaled the song to reach the higher notes. The band wrapped their sweet honky tonk performance with an unlikely (but well done) cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”, leaving the crowd revved up and ready for the return of The Royal Tinfoil.
Opening their set with the finger snapping “Rat on a Wheel”, it was immediately clear why this show from The Royal Tinfoil had been in such high demand - and why the Pour House was a packed house. Captivating lead singer, Lily Slay, has a smoky vocal style that is as commanding as it is authentic, lending itself well to the gypsy jazz, speakeasy vibe that The Tinfoil has so craftily cultivated. Complementing Slay is the wild-haired Mackie Boles (vox + guitar), whose impassioned stare is matched only by his startling, gripping voice. Brad Edwardson’s upright bass is a powder keg of sound, thumping as steadily as a metronome but ready to explode, while Tim Edgar’s harmonica crackles like a raging campfire.
The Tinfoil swung through tunes from their album, including the uptempo “Bitter Pill” and “Die Already”, as well as a fistful of rocking new songs. Friend of the band and fellow Charleston musician Rachel Kate Gillon, who had performed earlier in the evening at a festival downtown, even joined the stage for a selection of songs. The steadfast and energetic performance was dotted with introductions, anecdotes, whiskey and dedications, with Slay at one point calling up the house lights to peruse the crowd.
“Whiskey goggles aside,” she smirked, “y’all are real good lookin’.”
The band confidently pounded through their set, descending with the darkness of the night into the meatier, circus psychology of their cache. They played with a stylized heaviness, the burning, carnal guitar and Slay’s husky tone like something organic and wild, but far from uncontrolled – rock n roll with a tortured, vagabond soul. Singing of liquor and hand grenades, sweet siren songs, ghost towns and a lost lover’s impending death, The Royal Tinfoil evoke an eerie excitement, a feeling that something is lurking in the shadows just beyond the light. The boogieman is real, and on this damp night he took center stage as Boles crept into “Stalker vs. Stalker”, a perfectly sleazy doom tune with clever lyrics and a lurking bass line.
Dripping with sweat and rife with fervor, Boles then began to recant the Tinfoil’s tale of gypsy sex and she-wolves with the introduction to “Theme from Muscadine”. The crowd erupted as he spoke, his throaty voice a mash up of Tom Waits and Dr. Teeth, leading the Tinfoil like a side show ringmaster. After the song’s final cry of “Mother fuckin’ Tinfoil!” had been bellowed out, the band was joined again by Rachel Kate and members of The Whiskey Gentry, along with local singer Jordan Igoe, for a sweat flinging, hand clapping encore of “The Wretched Curse of Fools”. It was cut off time, but neither the band nor the crowd was ready for the night to end.
“Do you guys want one more song?” Slay beckoned. “Well I threw my pick in the air as some grand gesture, and now it’s gone. That’s my flair for drama,” she laughed, and then drove the band into a fiery version of Ween’s “It’s Gonna Be a Long Night”.
Captivating and complicated, ballsy, passionate and raw, The Royal Tinfoil is everything that rock n roll was ever meant to be. It triggers something deep within, exorcising the demons of inhibition and providing the listener with a freedom that people all too often do not afford themselves.
And if that doesn’t get your bones a’ rattling, then you simply do not have a soul.
* Correction: The Royal Tinfoil will play at Home Team BBQ (Sullivan's Island) on Dec. 30th ($5) and Dec. 31st ($12 adv/$15 dos).
The Royal Tinfoil on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheRoyalTinfoil
The Royal Tinfoil on ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/theroyaltinfoil
Twitter: @TheRoyalTinfoil
The Whiskey Gentry on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheWhiskeyGentry
The Whiskey Gentry on ReverbNation: www.reverbnation.com/thewhiskeygentry
Twitter: @WhiskeyGentry
.pr.
Prisha...the Royal Tinfoil do actually have two more shows this year. They are playing at Hometeam on Sullivans Island on Dec. 30th & 31st. Great article
ReplyDeleteDicky
Thanks for the info, Dicky! Glad you dig the write-up!
ReplyDeleteThis is a brilliant piece of music writing! When a band is as adept at writing and mixing musical genres as The Royal Tinfoil, it is hard to write something about them that really does justice, but you did! Major props for your enviable creative style and obvious great taste.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the kind words, DeeDee! The Tinfoil is indeed a crafty crew, so this was a fun write-up to work on. Hope you get the chance to catch one (or both!) of their shows @ Home Team BBQ on Sullivan's Island, tonight + NYE! :)
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