Shakey Graves @ 9:30 Club - 5/15/2018
As Alejandro Rose-Garcia’s foreboding tweet went in December: “Next album. New sound. Sell your suspenders.” How true it was.
Can’t Wake Up did away with the Americana-influenced busker music that helped him gain fame and instead embraced the music of Harry Nilsson and The Beatles to create dreamlike, woozy soundscapes that embraced a different kind of guitar sound. As he said to Billboard in May, “Some part of me feels compelled to poke the bear about why people have such issues with growth or change because everything is changing so obviously around us.” Even with the change in sound forthcoming, it wasn’t hard for Shakey Graves to sell out two nights at 9:30 Club, though some may have come to the show wondering which version of Rose-Garcia they would see that night.
Thankfully, some old habits die hard.
Shakey Graves giving his best fierce face at 9:30 Club (photo by Mauricio Castro / @themauricio)
Laid in front of a stack of CRT televisions before the set began was a cowboy hat on a chair, a reminder that Rose-Garcia is still a Texas boy through and through. The crowd erupted the moment he rested that hat on his head, and it was off to the races. The set alternated between solo performances and songs performed alongside his four-piece band, like new cuts “Big Bad Wolf” and “Cops and Robbers.” His sense of humor shined throughout - on Roll The Bones classic “Georgia Moon,” he interjected his lyrics with hilarious asides describing the cheap moonshine product that inspired the song while keeping the melody of the song intact. While he had a lot of energy playing alongside the band, it was clear that the crowd got the biggest kick from his solo, busker-like performances. With one foot pounding a suitcase kick drum and another hitting a tambourine, his captivating proficiency on the guitar on the one-two punch of “Roll the Bones” and “Late July” brought back all the clapping that people were hoping for. So which version of Shakey Graves will we see next? If this show were any indication, both wouldn’t be such a bad option.
Can’t Wake Up is available now on Dualtone Music Group.
Opening for Shakey Graves was Massachusetts-based trio And The Kids. Their latest release is the 2017 single “2003.”
