The Nashville music scene invaded Chicago this weekend in the form of a new breed of southern rock. This relatively new band called American Bang opened for The Pretenders on Sunday night at the Riviera Theater, performing a short set for the tightly packed audience of mostly middle-aged rockers.
The aging ’80s era quasi-punk, black leather jacket & teased out hair crowd was treated to a lively performance by four hairy, young and hard-edged boys from Tennessee. Yet it was no surprise that they were enthusiastically received, because their music quite simply rocked!
At times one could hear echoes of early punk, and many of their songs were delightfully crunchy, with tight rhythms and simplistic structure. At other times you could hear elements of pop music in their melodies. Sometimes it was their southern roots showing through, especially in the slower numbers, but the songs were never trite or boring. They seemed to bring a fresh, new sound to the subgenre of southern rock. The guitar playing was rarely lacking, demonstrating a hard-working band that constantly rehearses, and tended to focus on playing in close harmony, conserving their songs’ energies instead of drifting off into long and pointless guitar solos.
Lead singer and guitarist Jaren Johnston sort of reminded me of Axl Rose, with stringy hair and a bad boy attitude. At one point he took a hearty pull on a whiskey bottle, exclaiming, “Oh! Scotch, Scotch, I love Scotch!” The crowd ate it up, cheering him on into the next song. My own heart tugged hard with every glance at his gorgeous guitar, the same SG Classic that Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, and so many other great rockers, have used in the past with devastating effect. The throaty, deep twang of an SG is just not to be missed, and his playing added a rich, meaty tone to their songs.
Their lyrics were simple and to the point, all about love, heartbreak and just having a good time, which fits the band’s onstage image to a tee. They wormed their way into everyone’s hearts that night, and in terms of youthful energy and a fresh and original sound, they far outshone the headline act. Basically, I saw American Bang as a fine example of a good time party band, so if that sounds like your kind of thing, then they are not to be missed.