Reviews > Shows

Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Bowery Ballroom, NYC – 6/29

There are very few situations in which the sight of a pedal-steel guitar, an instrument typically associated with country music and southern church gatherings, will cause a rowdy, sold-out crowd of roughly 575 to shriek with excitement. Typicality, however, has never quite been Robert Randolph’s thing.

In the setting of the Manhattan’s swanky, darkly-lit Bowery Ballroom, a Robert Randolph show feels more like a 1950s underground, jazz dance club than a 2010 mid-summer weeknight performance. Following the recent release of the band’s third studio album, We Walk This Road, Randolph and his band mates proved that, although this CD may seem a bit restrained in comparison to the records that produced wailers like “Ain’t Nothing Wrong with That” and “I Need More Love”, the energy of the group’s live performances continue to be anything but suppressed.

Taking the stage in a sleek black slacks, a pin stripe vest, a tie and a smirk that suggests that he’s up to something, Randolph is equipped with his usual swagger. Wasting no time, he props himself behind his shiny, red pedal steel guitar, joined by his longtime band mates and cousins Danyel Morgan (bass) and Marcus Randolph (drums). The three musicians are in good company on the cozy Bowery stage, as the opener, which also happens to be the first track on the new album, “Traveling Shoes,” explodes with the help of Randolph’s sister Lenesha on vocals, the talented Adam Smirnoff on the guitar and Brett Hass on the keyboard.

Just when you think little sister might steal the show, Randolph reminds you who fronts the band with a pedal steel solo that sends sweat flying onto the fans pressed against the stage and almost sends Randolph flying off of his chair. A true “family” affair, however, the spotlight volleys smoothly around the stage with Morgan covering vocals for another new track, “Things Just Don’t Change,” Smirnoff stealing a few solos in between Randolph’s licks and Hass taking on John Lennon’s “I Don’t Want to be a Soldier” which, live and on the new album, is successfully delivered with a soulful, funky and borderline-psychedelic spin.

A man who prides himself on producing a live performance that makes people feel good, Randolph takes a break from the new album on the fourth song by slipping in the upbeat, instrumental and familiar “The March.” Randolph’s only instructions are to follow his moves and not be afraid to be a little different than the person next to you—which is a relief considering that at a Robert Randolph show, the person next to you could be anyone from your grandfather to the teenage girl who used her older sister’s ID to get into the 18-and-over club.

The show hits two distinctive high points, both for which credit can be given to the funky, Gospel and Christian blues music that rang over cotton fields in the south nearly a century ago and undeniably influenced the new album. “If I Had My Way,” a song that sprang from a Blind Willie Johnson song and was pinned down with the help of Ben Harper on the new album, bring Randolph and his band back to their feet stomping, hand clapping roots and results in the crowd joining the band for a small, but warmly welcomed, taste of “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers. Proving he can get funkier still, Randolph introduces “Dry Bones” which, although constructed from the skeleton of a 1900s spiritual written to teach children about anatomy, is easily the high point of We Walk This Road, with an undeniable soul seeping from every chord, verse and harmony.

After a night of pushing the new album, Randolph and the band end with the must-dance anthem of 2006, “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With That,” which ends as the band peels off and leaves the crowd alone with Randolph and his pedal for a short “Voodoo Chile” tease before he joins his band offstage. The crowd, who may not have even noticed the absence of the band, is still dancing as Randolph and his crew return to the stage for a marathon encore, beginning with the taunting, sexy “I’m Not Listening” and almost effortlessly transition into Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm.” Finally, Randolph gives an unexpected nod to Lady Gaga by working the pedal steel to the tune of “Poker Face.” Hey, he may have an old soul, but he knows what the kids are listening to—and he certainly knows how to make them dance.