Jimmy Lehoux Band live is a real treat for fans of authentic country and for any fan of good music. These boys have real muscle in their musicianship. Last night’s show at Manchester, New Hampshire’s Boynton’s Tap Room was a prime sample of the beef in this Lehoux’s music.Lehoux is promoting his upcoming CD he calls Thirteen.Opening number “Guitar Town” showed true grit in Lehoux’s singing voice, and he followed up with much more in second number “Guitar Cadillac.” Down home warmth in his voice and acoustic picking would leave you thinking he was born and raised in Nashville, not Manchester, New Hampshire. With his strong masculine voice he doesn’t’ just sing a song, he narrates it with force and passion.
Lehoux and his boys rocked it up a little bit on “Bury The Shovel” with some edge from Lehoux’ acoustic guitar and also with Scot Gibbs’s electric phrasing sounding so country-fried crisp and golden in this acoustically superior room. It helped that standup bass from bass man Jarrod Williams gave the tune and many others a hearty, old-fashioned throb.
“Time Marches On” featured dual acoustic guitars whipping up a comfortable weave. A sweet fiddle melody moved in politely around the chunks of joyous acoustic rhythms. The rhythm section of Williams and drummer Greg Gagne really gave it all a mellow depth that made you feel, on the mellow tunes, like you were sitting on a neighbor’s front porch after summer super shooting the breeze. Lehoux and company launched into George Strait’s “Check Yes Or No” with the fiddle greasing the wagon wheels on this big moving vehicle of melody. Over the music Lehoux handled the lead vocal with sincere country boy charm.
Lehoux is certifiably capable of hitting higher levels of recognition. He handles with equal force a pretty ballad called “Life With Love” and a toe-tapping number called “Against The Law.” Of, course it helps that he has players like Vinnie Mrisola revving things up with fiddle and later on in the show with his lap steel guitar. Lehoux forged together all the guitars, fiddle, keyboards, and drums with the heft of his voice and stage presence on otherwise unwieldy songs like “I Know It’s You In My Heart.” He sung the twisty tale from his new Thirteen CD “The Way Things Are” with aplomb, carrying everyone along with his narration. Lehoux does get by with a little help from his friends, like Scot Gibbs backing him here with big, thick notes on a Gibson Jazz Guitar.
Lahoux has a wide vocal range, including inflection and tone. The country boy sang “Jack & Charlie” with a knowing tone of voice that made all the difference, and he performed “I Remember When” with a country voice as authentic as the big, white, wide-brimmed hat he had on his head all night. His singing voice had a country edge on “Take Care Of My Girl” and his sincere, poignant projection showed he’s a country boy who is not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, a quality likely noticed by every female fan in the room last night.
Lehoux and his men are at their most fun during heavier, foot stomping numbers. “Copperhead Road,” with Lehoux on mandolin, had a dark, foreboding timber and the heavy country stomp made you aware this song was serious business. “Simple Man” continued the foot stomping action with edgy guitar from Gibbs. “I Don’t Even Know Your Name” was an uptempo foot stomper and it had Mrisola’s fiddle sparks all over it.
There were interesting cover song choices as the evening was drawing to a close. The Eagles’ “Take It Easy,” Nathan Greenbaum’s “Spirit In The Sky” and The Georgia Satellites’ “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” showed the band’s knack for arrangement and for putting their own personal stamp on things. The covers also closed out the show with familiar songs, keeping the crowd in the comfortable crossover niche that the evening started out with.
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