NICOLE ATKINS’ MOONLIGHT REVUE

Ft. Nicole Atkins, Binky Griptite, Emma Swift, Nikki Hill, and more!

Saturday October 29, 2022

@ The Bobby Hotel’s Rooftop Lounge in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

The Bobby Hotel, a luxury, boutique hotel that opened in 2018, sits just about a half mile North of the neon strip of the bustling Lower Broadway district, and a stone throw away from the famed Printer’s Alley, boldly occupying its space along 4^th Avenue N in the heart of downtown Nashville.

As floods of people filter in and out of the hotel’s street level entrance, the elevators to the 10^th story   fill with a mix of locals and a mingling of tourists and seem to never quit racing up and down as the rooftop lounge is one of Music City’s hottest spots to be.

Referred to as “Bobby’s Backyard,” the sprawling rooftop lounge is a gathering place that welcomes strangers to become friends over spirited yard games and cocktails, while standing in the middle of breathtaking views of the downtown skyline – of course, the retrofitted 1956 Scenicruiser bus that sits as the centerpiece provides the talk of the town WOW factor that makes The Bobby the destination it’s become.

But beyond all of that, the cornerstone of any bustling must-go attraction in Nashville is always the live music, and the Bobby has certainly brought it throughout October with their “Backyard Sessions” as they welcomed Nicole Atkins’ Moonlight Revue every Saturday of the month, highlighting the best of the best in Americana music with a spooky twist and turn through the great songbook that shaped music as we know it today.

Americana is a blending of sounds, styles, and left of the dial roots infused compositions that walks a toe across several different genre lines, never fully committing to one or the other but merely creating their own branded style to give each artist that’s blanketed with the Americana classification a unique feel to proudly label as their own; similar enough to something you’re familiar with, but different enough that it stands out.

Leading the charge as the host of these incredible weekly residencies throughout October, Nicole Atkins has been a pillar in the Americana community since the mid-2000’s, bending psychedelic sounds into an array of blues, 1950’s jazz infused lounge influence, and retro soul so as to never give us the same album twice while always showcasing an extreme willingness to think outside her normal comfort zone and swerve any preconceived notions you might have as to what to expect from her.

Par for the course with Americana music, no two guests that she welcomed over the two sets on this 4^th and final night of her Moonlight Revue sounded identical to one another, which raised the excitement level as each new artist took the stage and brought something a little different to it, allowing the crowd to dip a toe into the waters of what they do, while expertly leaving them wanting more as none overstayed their welcome. 

With this being the final Saturday before Halloween, costumed guests flooded the rooftop clad in everything from a Beetlejuice styled dress, Beatles mop top wigs, a superman cape, skeleton body suits, a karate kid headband, and much more!

SET #1

Likewise, Nicole Atkins also donned the look of an undead airline pilot from the 1960’s as she took the stage to open the first set by sliding right into the soulful blues groove of “Listen Up,” pulling us back to her 2017 Goodnight Rhonda Lee album while immediately moving the crowd in a sway along fashion as she skillfully placed her incredible vocals in the spotlight before introducing the individual members of her backing band – The Sensible Flats – as they each highlighted their individual talent during the roll call. 

Staying in the pocket of a groove reminiscent of the 1970’s, Atkins kept the already invested crowd enthralled as she pressed forward with “Domino,” bringing us into her latest album Italian Ice. With a hushed styled vocal layered over the top of an irresistible melody that built in progression toward the chorus, Atkins was able to expertly drive through the song, steadily lifting her voice to match the instrumentation so to strike at the perfect moments and pop the lyrics, mesmerizing the crowd as they slid deeper into their trance like state with eyes glued on the amazing performance unfolding right in front of them.

The drums and bass began to pulsate, vibrating the rooftop ground as they drove into the rhythm of the rock infused moodiness of “Brokedown Luck” as Atkins finished her 3-song opening set, then welcoming her first guest to the stage, Australian born singer-songwriter Emma Swift.

Swift’s naturally gifted voice combined with a brand of folk inspired indie rock as she kept us securely locked in the 1970s vibe, dusting off “I Wanna See the Bright Lights Tonight,” the 1974 folk rock gem originally performed by Richard and Linda Thompson.

With her version of the Kris Kristofferson written/Willie Nelson performed “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” Memphis’ Cyrena Wages took hold of the classic country song and brought it to an exciting new height as she infused it with a dash of soul, a hint of R&B flavor, and a striking undertone of Memphis Blues to give it a fresh, new feel that she poured her vocal into as she intriguingly made it her own.

Continuing with the idea of making a familiar song your own, Nikki Hill hit the stage by sliding into an incredibly unique, reggae kissed version of The Beatles “Don’t Let Me Down,” giving new life to the old song as the crowd bopped along with her, singing every word and bringing a smile to her face.

“Since we’re in the spooky season,” Hill teased mysteriously as she transported us straight to a Tacoma, Washington garage in the 1960’s, dusting off, and shredding their way through the obscure garage rocker “The Witch,” a song that was originally given to us by The Sonics, which owns the distinction as being a foundational song for what would eventually become punk rock.

With Memphis already well represented on stage throughout the night, John Paul Keith added his Bluff City vibes to the hat with “All I Want Is All of You,” an original song lifted from his Heart Shaped Shadow album that kept the crowd locked in the 1960’s as he borrowed his sound as much from a British invasion influence as he did artists like Booker T. & The M.G.’s; something we also heard when he pushed us through the title track of his most recent album, “The Rhythm of the City.”

Binky Griptite, the guitar virtuoso who many recognize from his time spent on the road with Amy Winehouse and as a founding member of the Dap-Kings, praised the amazing backing band as he tuned his guitar into a talking effect to deliver “Love Blues,” which carried more of a traditional blues feel to it, very reminiscent to what you would have heard on Chicago’s Maxwell Street during its heyday.

With everyone now sitting squarely in the palm of his hand, Binky issued an open warning to the crowd as much as to himself when he leaned into the moody feel of “Don’t Be An A**hole,” not only getting everyone singing along with the catchy repeats of the hook in the chorus, but also motivationally encouraging along the way that “if you want there to be one less a**hole out there, then it’s up to you to be that one less a**hole.”

“I met this next guy when he was just 17 years old and his then band was opening for us down in Atlanta,” excitedly shared Atkins as she brought Prime Minister Mike to the stage to join her as they embraced the punk rock spirit with a spot-on cover of Elvis Costello’s “You Belong To Me,” before Atkins pulled us back to 2007 to deliver “Cool Enough” from her uber popular Neptune City album.

As the first set rolled to its close, Tim Easton finished up the first hour of music with a rock and rolling version of John Prine’s “Daddy’s Little Pumpkin,” which kept everyone in the crowd, the other artists included, toe-tapping along as they bopped their heads and bounced their shoulders with the tempo driven rhythm as Easton wrapped his stellar vocal and outstanding harmonica slaying around the catchy melody.

FULL SET LIST #1

1) Listen Up (Nicole Atkins)

2) Domino (Nicole Atkins)

3) Brokedown Luck (Nicole Atkins)

4) I Wanna See the Bright Lights Tonight (Emma Swift – Richard and Linda Thompson cover)

5) Help Me Make It Through the Night (Cyrena Wages – Willie Nelson cover)

6) Don’t Let Me Down (Nikki Hill – The Beatles cover)

7) The Witch (Nikki Hill – The Sonics cover)

8) All I Want Is All of You (John Paul Keith)

9) The Rhythm of the City (John Paul Keith)

10) Love Blues (Binky Griptite)

11) Don’t Be An A**hole (Binky Griptite)

12) You Belong To Me (Prime Minister Mike/Nicole Atkins – Elvis Costello cover)

13) Cool Enough (Nicole Atkins)

14) Daddy’s Little Pumpkin (Tim Easton – John Prine cover)

SET #2

Impending rain clouds were rapidly moving into Nashville from the West, so the intermission was cut short so as much music could get poured into the second set of the night as possible, as Nicole Atkins kicked things back off with “Mind Eraser,” quickly bringing everyone right back into the moodiness of the groove laden night with a soulful punch that kept the late going crowd swaying along as they sipped on drinks and sang the popular cut along with her.

The softer paced Skeeter Davis hit from 1962, “The End of the World,” allowed Emma Swift’s outstanding voice to radiate the rooftop once again, just as did during the first set, as she floated it through the song by leaning deeply into the emotions of the lyrics so that her bravado almost cried out from the stage with each word sung as she found ways within her incredible abilities to enticingly give the familiar song a feeling all her own.

Prime Minister Mike the returned to the stage and kept us right in the 1960’s precedent that had been established when he lifted the Halloween spirit high with Dusty Springfield’s moody tune “Spooky,” and like Emma Swift did just before him, he placed a unique feel on the song by utilizing the attributes within his vocal range to add an entirely different flavor with a male perspective to a song ordinarily presented by a female.

Courtney Marie Andrews, a close friend of Nicole’s who had just recently returned from a stellar UK tour, kept the crowd gripped rich with Halloween spirit as she delivered the classic spooky season song, “I Put a Spell On You,” immediately encouraging them through the rhythm to sway their hips in time with the melody as she belted out line by line, lifting her voice into an aura that contained just enough rasp to add a gritty dynamic to the familiar song.

Moving us through the time warp of great music, Nicole Atkins and Binky Griptite took us from the 1960’s into the 1970’s with the psychedelic Led Zeppelin hit, “Dazed and Confused,” which acted as a perfect centerpiece to the second set as it not only held the overall vibe squarely in place, but really allowed both Nicole and Binky to mirror the songs original take with each of their respective instruments (voice and guitar), while skillfully taking minor liberties within it to kiss it with some modern flare.

Already on stage, and with the crowd sitting hot in the 1970’s era, Griptite kept had them singing along with him and his talking guitar on Peter Frampton’s “Show Me the Way.”

As with Courtney Marie Andrews before her, Levi Musique made her appearance on the night during the second set as well, allowing her deeper register vocal to perfectly fit around Roy Orbison’s “Sweet Dream Baby,” bringing a rockabilly touched flavor to the show, which acted as a perfect segue to John Paul Keith.

Keith returned to the stage with “Baby, We’re A Bad Idea,” the first of two songs he’d play from his 2013 Memphis Circa 3AM album, introducing an early 1960s tinged surf vibe to the intro, that would then slide into an insatiable, rock-n-roller blues vibe akin to what we heard from him earlier in the night on “All I Want Is All of You.”

With his 4^th original tune on the night, Keith stayed on his Memphis Circa 3AM album with “We Got All Night,” pulling us straight into a British Invasion feel as he kept the late nighters heads bopping as they tapped their toes along with the memorable rhythm while he bounced around stage shredding his guitar at all the perfect moments to elicit cheers from the guitar loving audience.

“The blues is alive and well in that young man,” Binky Griptite would enthusiastically exclaim by the end of McKinley James closing set, which Griptite played guitar during.

Whereas Jimmie Vaughn’s “Silly Dilly Woman” brought couples to the makeshift dancefloor in front of the stage for a blues infused throwdown that transported us back to the late 1950’s, covers of the Bobby Blue Band’s “That’s The Way Love Is” and Magic Sam’s “What Have I Done Wrong” each injected the night with souped-up rhythm and blues styled jams that incorporated some funkiness to cap the incredible night of music – just prior to the skies opening up.

FULL SET LIST #2

1) Mind Eraser (Nicole Atkins)

2) The End of the World (Emma Swift – Skeeter Davis cover)

3) Spooky (Prime Minister Mike – Dusty Springfield cover)

4) I Put a Spell On You (Courtney Marie Andrews - "Screamin' Jay" Hawkins cover)

5) Dazed and Confused (Nicole Atkins & Binky Griptite – Led Zeppelin cover)

6) Show Me the Way (Binky Griptite – Peter Frampton cover)

7) Sweet Dream Baby (Levi Musique – Roy Orbison cover)

8) Baby, We’re a Bad Idea (John Paul Keith)

9) We Got All Night (John Paul Keith)

10) Silly Dilly Woman (McKinley James – Jimmie Vaughn cover)

11) That’s The Way Love Is (McKinley James – Bobby Blue Band cover)

12) What Have I Done Wrong (McKinley James – Magic Sam cover)

Music revues are not always easy to navigate for the artists. When they choose what covers to include, they need to also make sure that they carefully embody the spirit of their own original style into them while fueling off one another to create something of a cohesive sound so that the flow is seamless from artist to artist, song to song.

Nicole Atkins, and the list of her uber talented friends, absolutely rose to the occasion! They delivered a power packed night full of great music, some original and some covers, which took the crowd on an incredible journey that celebrated the 1960’s by travelling through the rock-n-roll era, the psychedelic era, and arriving at the guitar-soaked edge of the 1970’s, all while craftily splicing into the right here right now in showings of the influence that these classic songs played on their own original music of today! 

 Do you like what you're reading on Today's Country Magazine? Donate today by clicking HERE

• Prev
• Next