With a combination of charisma and skill, the Deadly Gentlemen lived up to their name Wednesday night at the Ark and put on a killer performance. Puns aside, the music was wonderfully lively–true to their bluegrass roots, and even interspersed with some of their old work from when they were the world’s only “Bluegrass Rap” band (a short-lived enterprise as they admitted to alienating fans of both bluegrass and rap).
The band’s origins were apparent in their attentiveness to lyrics, which sometimes came across as spoken-word poetry. In fact, one of their songs was a poem that they’d put to music, which was a nice touch because thought in the words helped enhance the meaning of the songs. Their instrumental work did not suffer for this, however, as their purely musical pieces maintained the quality of their lyrics. Songs that combined their lyrical and instrumental techniques proved to be great for listening and dancing!
For a band with a guitarist who is known for having “the best vibe ever” (at least according to the band’s website), they met expectations by engaging the audience between songs in conversation, giving the show a casual, comfortable tone. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the Ark’s atmosphere, which was regrettably lacking the enthusiasm one might hope at a bluegrass concert. There was no space set aside for dancing, as the entire floor in front of the stage was taken up by tables, and the audience could barely be roused to clap in time with the music. Even when the band invited people to sing along to the chorus of their newest album’s title track “Roll Me, Tumble Me,” the response was minimal.
Still, the Deadly Gentleman adapted to the audience–starting with smoother songs, before working their way up to their faster-paced repertoire. In a way, this method gave the whole show the feeling and structure of a song that is building to the crescendo. Their songs had a great Happily, despite the audience’s initial attitude, by the end of the show, everyone was on their feet and calling for an encore.
The Deadly Gentlemen were impressive, both in their musical talents and their ability to put on a good show that raised the spirits of a taciturn audience!
