Roomful Of Blues rocked Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry last night

They were soulful. They were jumping. They were swinging. They were rocking. Roomful Of Blues played to a roomful of devoted fans last Saturday night at the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Their performance in this acoustically superior room matched the standard they always set for themselves. Those eight talented guys took the stage and did what they do best. Trumpeter Doug Woolverton had the best night out of the whole band. His trumpet work just impressed, shone, and sounded the sweetest, and the loudest. Alto and tenor saxophonist Paul Ahlstrand subbed ably for Mark Earley last night, and his crew cut gave him a 1950s’ look that actually suited much of the material covered last night.

The only drawback was that Tupelo seated everybody in concert format. It would have been better if they had lined up some chairs along the walls and left open a wide space for dancing. Everybody was trying to chair dance. It was painfully obvious that people would rather move their feet to this band instead of sitting in cramped, uncomfortable seating just watching them.

Roomful opened with a jam that was marked by guitarist Chris Vachon’s vintage sounding tone and the sparks he made bracing his intensity against the driving three part horn section. From start to finish, Vachon would always up the ante, suddenly bringing in more excitement with his six string, usually just after the horn section completed an inspiring, spiraling swell. Keyboardist Travis Colby brought to the table a barrelhouse piano style that he would return to throughout the two hour concert, and to great effect.

“Let’s Have A Natural Ball” found new lead singer Phil Pemberton fitting right in with Roomful’s sound. Pemberton has a high pitched voice with a soft timbre. This voice glides, climbs, and swoops down when needed. Yet, Pemberton prefers to serve the song by revealing its emotional core rather than show off vocal gymnastics.

Bass player Big John Turner brings an old-fashioned, driving low end with his stand up. It is hard to imagine Roomful sounding as strong with only an electric four string. Last Saturday night, Turner kept switching from being a song’s anchor or creating its arc with his fulsome throbbing notes.

Crowd pleasers “All Right, Okay, You Win” and “She Walks Right In” were marked by Pemberton’s belts, Vachon’s nimble guitar solos, and Colby’s Barrelhouse piano runs. Vachon played an electrifying solo on “Black Night” and Pemberton reached the song’s core, singing from the heart and soul. Colby was back in a full swing mode on “Boogie Woogie Country Girl,” the combo of piano and horns impressive and a lot of fun. If that wasn’t enough, Hub blues impresario Rosy Rosenblatt showed up and blew a hurricane of really cool blues harp. Roomful expanded their sound with Rosenblatt’s help, and it probably made the crowd wish even more that they were in a dance hall.

Colby was particularly good on “Two For The Price Of Ten” because he kept up a B3interplay with horns. Pemberton too had some fun on “Ten,” darting in and out of the groove with his soulful approach. This show was Pemberton’s second time singing with Roomful at Tupelo since they debuted him there, and he fits the band like an old pair of shoes. “Baby, I’m Gone” had a full bari sax that made the song bop along at a pace that the others could really strut their stuff around. The groove from the rhythm section was so on time and full of pulsating bop.

Roomful turned in a little New Orleans flavor gumbo with their “Jambalaya On The Bayou,” the horns and piano sounding drenched in some faint Creole melody. The tenor sax melody was dripping Big Easy in it’s laid back coloring and lilting pace. “Time Brings About A Change” gave Pemberton a chance to show what he can do with the slowly unfolding bittersweet end of romance ballad. His voice again finds the song’s emotional core and he emoted in that Otis Redding kind of mellow phrasing, slowly, milking the feeling, but never over singing it. The horns behind him were so full of sorrow in their breezy pace and when Colby began his gentle tinkling of those bluesy lounge notes, forget about it. If you didn’t feel something when they played this, you should check your pulse.

Roomful got into some roots rock and roll during the show, rocking out in their own special way, with all those instruments building a wall of sound around the primitive, aggressive beats of yesteryear. “It All Went Down The Drain” was edgy and rocking, and “T-Bone Boogie” was pure oldies rock and roll with Vachon’s guitar twists and turns and Rich Lataille’s tenor sax swinging gracefully around. Pemberton and the horns left the stage so Vachon, Colby, Turner, and drummer Ephraim Lowell could jam on an instrumental piece Vachon wrote called “Slam Jam,” a tune that could best be described as hard surf. Vachon took his piercing lead guitar phrases around many corners on two wheels without ever losing that perfect edge and unique tone. Drums and bass became prominent with less sound over them and you could feel the groove those two could lock into. Colby took over from Vachone, subbing guitar phrases with his early 1960s B3 chord swirls.

Roomful went into “Just Keep On Rockin” from their Standing Room Only” CD, and, once again this song about the woman who travels with the band became a crowd favorite. The horns here took some interesting twists and turns and Pemberton’s high, soft timber made the song tilt into R&B feel. “Hook, Line, and Sinker,” the title track from their upcoming CD, was a mix of all the good Roomful trademarks, especially their timing. This one was stitched together seamlessly, and its racing tempo put pressure on the whole band to get each’s part perfect.

There were some more standards that Roomful fleshed out with their swinging horns and Vachon’s rock and roll accents. One of their classic songs, “Turn It On, Turn It Up,” had that perfect bopping beat that let everyone else, including the horns and organ and guitar, to get funky and soulful. They turned up the party feeling here and the extra layer of good time vibe rode out the end of the show.

Near the end of their concert, Roomful went into Travis Colby’s own song “Jona Lee” from their Standing Room Only CD. Colby was enjoying all that barrelhouse magic he was creating for his fans. The horn section on Colby’s composition was particularly fun, smooth, and swinging. Pemberton agreed to the crowd’s need for one more song by going into “Just A Little Love,” a close out number with its cutely appropriate line “just a little love before we go.”

After the show, the mood made it obvious that this was another satisfied Roomful audience. There were smiles on many faces greeting the band, buying a CD, and shaking hands.
www.roomful.com
www.tupelohall.com

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