Evan Goodrow Band appeared at the Tupelo Music Hall in Londonderry, New Hampshire last night and kicked ass for about four hours. Yes, the trio consisting of Evan Goodrow on guitar and lead vocals, John Cooke on Hammond organ and left hand bass, and Phil Antoniades on drums gave their Tupelo audience more than their money’s worth.
The Evan Goodrow Band played their original soul, funk, and R&B. But those labels don’t completely tell the story of what this outfit sounds like, especially when they play live. The Evan Goodrow Band are a highly talented power trio that rocks those genres into the aural stratosphere. Goodrow, using dynamics and technique, can conjure up a lead guitar phrase that expands the possibilities of the instrument. Many of the lead guitar lines that Goodrow played last night were expanded sound and made his six string blare like a horn section, loud, wide, and free.
Eliminating the bass guitar position and bringing on board Hammond organ player John Cooke was one the most brilliant moves Goodrow has ever made. Cooke, who came on board a few years back, can easily hold down the low end notes with his left on a second electric keyboard. And those keyboard bass notes give EGB an entirely new sound that most bands can only dream of. Cooke, meanwhile, whips his Hammond organ notes into a frenzy on extended instrumental jams that rock whatever house or festival they play. Cooke can also emote with the Hammond’s unique sound, coming up with soulful melodies and swirling chords that make you feel what a song is about.
Third, Antoniades was a real find for Goodrow. This drummer may play in the funk style, leaving open space for the guitar and organ, and laying down a steady groove that inspires dancing. But, he plays with the thunderous power of long gone drummers like John Bonham of Led Zeppelin or Keith Moon of The Who. Antoniades is so adept that his solos became a show onto themselves. Women were dancing in the back of the hall to the rhythmical beat he was pounding out with a fury of speed, variations of toms, snare, and bass, and unique combinations of heavy handed skin smacking you don’t hear anywhere else.
At the start of the Londonderry show the trio jumped right into a big funk vibe while Goodrow sang in a flow of vocal oomph. His voice isn’t loud. It’s powerful. It’s full of emotion and he sand in long lines of vocal melodies with soulful story songs he unfolds at length. “I Don’t Wanna Know” off his latest CD Say It came across like something racing forward with a powerful engine under the hood. Brittle R&B guitar lines, then swirls of Hammond organ notes through a spinning Leslie speaker over thunderous drum chops began the event.
That Hammond organ can really carry a soulful flowing vibe on the mellow vibe, down tempo numbers. The organ notes from Mr. Cooke percolated up with such richness you could feel it like a presence in the room. At other times the Hammond organ notes moved with the carefree looseness of jazz. Near the end of the night, Cooke and Antoniades played as a duo when Goodrow left the stage. That was where you could really hear the potential of those keyboards because Cooke was playing like a pack of firecrackers, endlessly sending off sparks of notes, chords, swirling melodies, and the whole display loomed large, like something that towers over what anybody was expecting to see or hear at last night’s show.
At times, Cooke’s Hammond organ cut a wide swath in the sound as it chords built into something big and wide and loud. Soon after, Goodrow would chime in with his guitar phrase architecture building huge swells in the sound. A lot of times Goodrow simply held up the rhythm section with a lot of chords and riffs while the Hammond carried the song and the drums exploded with heavy funk beats and grooves. On “Way Back Home,” another off of the last CD, found Goodrow playing some urgent phrases, his notes on fire, spiraling, growing larger in presence.
Goodrow has a large sense of humor at every show and last night was no exception. He said he was expecting a friend to be in the audience on his second date with someone he really hit it off with. Then, Goodrow noted that he hadn’t seen his friend yet and wondered aloud if his friend was one of several fans who mistakenly drove up route 89 to the Tupelo in Vermont. This monologue was an intro to the Al Green classic “Let’s Stay Together.” Goodrow played it for his friend who may or may not have been there to commemorate his successful second date. Goodrow sang unaccompanied at first, his voice, smoothing and flowing, nailing all the famous falsetto in the song. Finally, Goodrow’s caterwauling guitar chimed in with its crafty take on the well known melodic refrain.
Goodrow started his second lumbering set with “Don’t Lie To Me” from Say It. At once rocking and danceable, the tune found Goodrow using his husky voice to great effect, aggressive refrains that put muscle in the delivery. Playing the Stevie Wonder 1970s hit “I Wish” went over well the audience who danced in their chairs while several ladies got into it in the space at the back of the room.
The trio got the crowd moving once more when they went into Goodrow’s local hit single “Girls Dance With Girls” from his 24 album. The danceable drum fills and the rapid fire notes from the guitar turned into a palpable pulse for the dancers to move to.
It’s a safe bet that everybody left last night’s show feeling very satisfied with what they heard. Evan Goodrow Band played everything just right. Even the “doo-doo-doo” in their original “What Happens” came off with just the right timing, timbre, and coolness. Goodrow has one of the hottest acts on the greater-Boston music, winning fans and critics and making real money. He will only continue to get better and bigger and last night’s show was just a sample of what he can do on his way to greater heights.
