We had been told that this would be a sound and visual experience, having been teased on various social media platforms about his work in the studio with Pharrell, so I am not sure what those Zac Brown Band fans honestly expected as they filed in wearing their merchandised T-shirts, caps and I saw one chap carrying a stetson. The warm up act Nikhil D'Souza played to a packed out crowd and he did a great job, he joked about having been given the gig by Zac himself only the previous Saturday when he had met his own band mates. The songs he played were well put together and I am sure he will go on to bigger and better things but we were there for one thing and one thing alone, Sir Rosevelt.
This amazing trio has been made up of Zac Brown, Ben Simonetti and Niko Moon. I would love to know what got into their heads, or maybe what they had been drinking that day, to come up with the idea but it is fantastic. From the moments the lights dimmed, the huge LED video screen behind the stage played non stop, to begin with it showed each of the band members in their “Sunday Finest” seated at the end of the biggest dining table with two of the biggest male guards standing beside them naked to the waist. As this played out you could make out the band coming out in the darkness and the screams and cheers from the crowd came up, Scala’s roof was ready to be raised. I think the best thing about this gig was nobody knew any of their songs so you could just stand there and enjoy the atmosphere, dance and soak up what was going on. Musically, it was so far from country that the true country fans stood there in shock, those of us that have grown up with all genres were loving it and I was one of those, it started for me when they played a song called “Robert Baker” the screen full of robots and Zac’s voice fully synthesised, next thing the whole venue is jumping up and down, dancing with Zac, he was really having a good old dance along, it was crazy and great fun to see.
How many country music gigs do you have scantily clad dancing girls that come and gyrate during each song and of course a shout out has to go for the brass section they were wonderful, put a whole different tone onto the music. That is what made this NOT a country music concert, it was a mix of electronica meets classic funk meets ibiza, not what you would expect from a guy who you had seen at C2C only two days previously but this guy is diverse!
His rendition of Rag’n’Bone Man’s “Human” well we could sing along to that and everyone did, he really did that justice and proved his versatility. He has mixed his genres so many times, country, The Dave Grohl sessions, his UK mix ups with Bohemian Rhapsody and Baba O’Riley, listen to his previous albums and you can hear such a wealth of styles of music including his dance collaboration with Avicii, Zac is just an immensely talented man and this show completely showcased it for me.
As we neared the end of the gig we knew there was one song missing and as they left the stage we knew it would be the encore. I’m relieved I recorded it to keep but it will always be a bit wobbly due to the amount of wiggling in my seat. Sunday Finest was the last song of the show, we had done our best to remember most of the words, we sang our hearts out and we loved every second. Zac and the boys were grateful for the support this had been their first outing of Sir Rosevelt and I am sure the London crowd were proud to have been given the debut.
Overall I will be buying the album as soon as it is available, i think you have worked out I loved it, I have always liked ZBB, I was a bit phased when he went a bit grungy but he has a firm place in my heart and this eclectic crazy project means he shows true diversity. If you get a chance go and see the guys it is worth it.
Setlist
For My Own
Slow Motion
Hurricane
Perm
Take Your Love
On Fire
Human
Robert Baker
Let Me Go
Infinite
Nothing’s Going To Stop Us
Sunday’s Finest (Encore)