Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, with The Trongone Band were as “Good as Gold” at Off Broadway in St. Louis.
Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, and opening act, The Trongone Band cover a wide and varying spectrum of music. The Trongone Band provides the opening of our musical odyssey. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, this quartet of musicians was formed a few years back by brothers, Andrew and Johnny Trongone.
The group’s natural progression and an increased touring schedule sees Chip Hale on bass, replacing founding member, John Trongone Sr. This band’s sound consists of all things Americana and Southern Rock. For anyone not familiar with their music, you can’t help but notice the strong resemblances to Drive-By Truckers and The Grateful Dead. Their set features all original songs combined with the stage presence of a much more traveled band.
The first time you hear Sarah Shook sing, you could be excused for thinking Loretta Lynn conceived a child, fathered by Johnny Rotten. Her band, The Disarmers shadows Shook’s vibe with equal precision. A small but mighty Off Broadway crowd welcomes this punk-a-billy band back to St. Louis, for an encore performance.
Shook admits to those in attendance, the touring schedule is grinding on her a bit, but she is trudging through, like an old pro. Touring in support of the band’s latest album, “Years”, Shook writes and performs songs based on true stories. Shook even draws inspiration from her five years as a bank teller in the song, “F**k Up”. Her wisdom and humoristic approach to songwriting shine brightly in, “Years” second cut, “New Ways to Fail”.
With keys and a bandanna hanging from her pocket, Shook looks as if she is ready to travel at a moment’s notice. Just before Sarah does leave St. Louis, she leaves everyone with an upbeat message about a hard life. The message is in the driving rhythm and lyrics of “The Nail” from the 2017 album, Sidelong. “You’re never, ever home and when you are, what was once a happy home becomes a bar. When I think about the end and, boy I think about it often. I can’t decide which one of us will be the nail in this here coffin.”
Sarah Shook and the Disarmers will resume touring Europe through November and will be back in the United States beginning January 19th, 2019 at Uptown Grill in LaSalle, IL.
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