It’s hard to believe that RJW’s first London gig took place little over five years ago in the Big Red pub in Holloway; since that time they’ve developed a loyal UK following for their regular visits. Indeed, they tour pretty much ceaselessly, both in the USA and in Europe, while still finding time to release an album every year; they are an impressively well oiled machine.

Knowing that I couldn’t make their London show, I hopped on a train to Cambridge for the previous night’s gig and I’m so glad that I did. They lived up to their promise to be on stage at 8pm sharp for 90 minutes (the encore actually ended at 9.40) of non-stop Rock ‘n Roll.

A loud crack from Andrew Espantman’s drums ushered in ‘Pain’ (from ‘Ride Into The Light’, 2023), with the first of many fine vocals by Robert Jon Burrison and some tasty organ sounds from Jake Abernathie’s keyboards. After ‘Trouble’ from the latest album (‘Red Moon Rising’, 2024) we were taken all the way back to ‘Glory Bound’ (2015) for ‘Blame It On The Whiskey’, the highlight of which was Henry James’ long guitar outro.

The new album also supplied ‘Help Yourself’ and the title track, with Abernathie conjuring up a piano intro for the former and a synth solo on the latter, which also featured a rock solid rhythm courtesy of Espantman and bassist Warren Murrel. ‘Point Of View’ was the only as yet unrecorded song in the setlist, but it led to a fair bit of “dad dancing” in the audience!

‘Waiting For Your Man’ (from ‘Wrecking Vol. 2’, 2022) featured more big drum sounds and some tasty organ, before piano and guitar were to the fore again for ‘When I Die’ (also from ‘Glory Bound’), with its poignant, earworm lyrics. RJ and Henry both changed guitars for the popular ‘Ballad Of A Broken Hearted Man’ (from the new album) and ‘Tired Of Drinking Alone’ (from ‘Last Light On The Highway’, 2020); the slide intro to the latter wasn’t the last time that the twin guitar sound of the Allman Brothers Band would come to mind.

That 2020 album also spawned ‘Oh Miss Carolina’, which has developed a bit of a life of its own as a radio friendly singalong, and ‘Do You Remember’, in which the twin guitars again evoked memories of the ABB. At Big Red all those years ago, Henry James’ guitar prowess had left us slack-jawed, but tonight he’d kept his solos pretty concise… until the band returned for its encore of ‘Cold Night’. Another return to ‘Glory Bound’, it allowed Henry to really let loose, before RJ joined him for a wonderful twin guitar outro to send us all off into the night smiling.

The constant touring must sap the band’s collective energy, quite apart from its potential effect on RJ’s “honey & whiskey” vocals, but you’d never guess it. While they’re on stage the band is all about making sure that you have a good time and I doubt they’ve ever failed. Here’s to the next time, guys!

A quick word of praise too for the venue, where the staff are welcoming and efficient (some interesting local bottled ales in the fridge too!) It’s well worth a visit and there are still trains back to London after the pubs close; I was on board by 10.15 and home in north London with the kettle on within an hour!

Gary Smith

Setlist:

Pain No More; Trouble; Blame It On The Whiskey; Help Yourself; Red Moon
Rising; Point Of View; Waiting For Your Man; When I Die; Ballad Of A Broken
Hearted Man; Tired Of Drinking Alone; Oh Miss Carolina; Do You Remember;
Cold Night.