I recently discovered this Los Angeles-based band and were amazed that we hadn’t come across them before, as this soul/rock/RnB band is fronted by an incredibly talented vocalist in Ty Taylor, and boy what a front man he is. A ball of energy straight from the off, gyrating, dancing, moving, jumping using the mike stand as a prop, truly wonderful to watch. And his voice is like honey but with an edge. I’d guess it was like watching a modern-day Otis Redding in his prime, no kidding.

This band is as tight as they come, supporting their new album ‘Heavy Hymnal’, which featured heavily tonight, and reflects on the tunes as they are evangelical preachy RnB tunes with soul and a modern rock feel. The result is very intoxicating, and with Ty disappearing into the audience for a dance with some of the ladies, it’s all go – and this wouldn’t be the only time he makes a visit to the floor. With a mega crowd surf, and believe it or not, actually diving into a hole and conducting a handstand supported by some of the sold-out crowd, he is quite fearless. They have built up quite an arsenal, with what have become Trouble classics, like, ‘Run Like A River’, ‘Blues Hand Me Down’ and the Lady Blackbird collaboration ‘The Love That Once Lingered’. Obviously she’s not here tonight, but the support band Standin Man, who were excellent by the way and well worth checking out, vocalist Dean Fairhurst stepped in on the duet, very classy.

This was a master class in entertainment, true class, and we were treated to a fantastic version of ‘Higher Ground’, the Stevie Wonder classic, and surprise, he smashed it, before finishing with ‘Knock Me Out’, a hands up swaying finale. And with no surprise as soon as it was over, you found them at the merch desk, meeting the fans and having selfies. This is quite a singer and quite a band, hope they revisit again soon.

Photos by Geoff Griffe
Review by Jenny Griffe