Last week, I made a stop at Mercury Lounge to catch NOLA's John Michael Rouchell. I became a fan of JM's what, three or four years ago...when I happened to catch him at the same venue. He had been performing under the moniker MyNameIsJohnMichael and they came equipped with horns and trash cans. This trip, he came with a slimmed down, highly effective and seriously bad ass band consisting of Joe Dyson, Jr. (drums), Max Moran (bass) and Joe Shirley (keyboards). Those dudes are seriously tight, I mean seriously tight.
I wasn't sure how things were going to play out without the horns but, I was already digging the new songs from his recently released gem, The Separation EP, and was excited to hear them live, especially, "Wounded Heart" and "Holler" which have gotten a considerable amount of play around the office. I wasn't let down. Always an excellent live act, JM seemed even more on point than when I last took in a show. When you're consistently good live, it's often hard to top yourself but, I do believe he did just that, topped himself. Dare I say this is the best I've heard him? He seemed, for lack of a better word, rejuvenated. His always high energy show seemed even more intense. In the past, I always gleamed a definite NOLA vibe in his sound. With the new music, while JM is distinctly NOLA, his sound took less from that and leaned more towards R&B and soul. I heard a soul singer. We were treated to the aforementioned songs as well as a new song "Heartbeat" in the tight nine-song set. All in all, it was one of those shows that left you with the one word response of, 'damn!'
I wasn't sure how things were going to play out without the horns but, I was already digging the new songs from his recently released gem, The Separation EP, and was excited to hear them live, especially, "Wounded Heart" and "Holler" which have gotten a considerable amount of play around the office. I wasn't let down. Always an excellent live act, JM seemed even more on point than when I last took in a show. When you're consistently good live, it's often hard to top yourself but, I do believe he did just that, topped himself. Dare I say this is the best I've heard him? He seemed, for lack of a better word, rejuvenated. His always high energy show seemed even more intense. In the past, I always gleamed a definite NOLA vibe in his sound. With the new music, while JM is distinctly NOLA, his sound took less from that and leaned more towards R&B and soul. I heard a soul singer. We were treated to the aforementioned songs as well as a new song "Heartbeat" in the tight nine-song set. All in all, it was one of those shows that left you with the one word response of, 'damn!'
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