[ATTENDED: December 4, 2018] Beat Root Revival
I had called BergenPAC to see if Brian Wilson would have an opening act and I was told it was Beat Root Revival. I hadn’t heard of them and they sounded interesting, so I had hoped to get there in time to see them.
I didn’t quite know where BergenPAC was, so we arrived in Englewood a little later than I intended. We also needed to grab a slice before the show–it’s awkward to have to drive through dinner. So we walked in during the duo’s first or second song.
So just who is this band (which I misunderstood as Beet Root Revival at first). They describes themselves:
Beat Root Revival are a multi-instrumentalist roots duo, combining elements of Folk, Blues, Country and Rock n Roll to create a foot stomping, melodic sound, made up of power house harmonic vocalists Andrea Magee and Ben Jones. Originally from England and Ireland, Ben Jones and Andrea Magee came to the USA 3 years ago like their ancestors before them, looking for a new life and to share their music far and wide.
And that really sums them up nicely.
For the most part Jones plays guitar and Magee plays (an amazing) bodhran and guitar and they both sing. They have strength of diversity in their voices–especially Jones, who can croon and wail and hit some very impressive high notes. Magee also has a lovely voice and can do lead and very pretty harmonies.
Their set included one big cover–a wonderful version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and ended with a somewhat reimagined cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together.” This particular cover saw the two of them playing around with some guitar fills and vocals melodies a bit which made the song a bit of their own.
Their originals were, for the most part, fun and up tempo. They were kind of aggressive folk rock–nice foot-stompin’ powerhouse songs. And Jones really showed off his powerful vocals and his impressive guitar playing skills.
But it was hard for me to take my eyes off of Magee once she picked up the bodhran. She really shone on that drum, playing slow or fast and getting a great sound out of it.
Magee introduced a song about cheese which I gather is called “Forever (The Cheese Song)” which I thought might be kind of funny, but it actually wasn’t–it was a sweet ballad but it kind of dragged a bit, especially after the stompers.
I didn’t know the songs they played (except the covers), but they seem to have played the same songs for most of the tour.
They hung out after the show, but we just wanted to get home. Definitely get there early for them if they open a show!
- Instincts
- Come On Over
- Dreams
- Forever
- Sit Me Down Woman Blues
- Come Together
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