Small, doll like, and animated, Lexi James has a stage presence that draws an audience’s attention. Her performance last night at Nash Casino in Nashua, New Hampshire proved she has the talent to engage the audience even further. Her band Wildheart is both smooth and tight, allowing her the freedom to do whatever she needs to make a song happen.
Opening with “Heads Carolina Tails California,” her voice carried the lilting vocal melody while making it look easy. James’ sweet girl next door voice actually worked well for Zac Brown’s “Keep Me In Mind.”
“Beer Never Broke My Heart” gave guitarist Corey Magno a chance to showcase some wiry guitar phrasing that gave the song a party edge as well as giving the band a chance to show how well they could fill in every snappy detail. James maintained the quirky delivery of the quip lyrics to Jelly Roll’s “Need A Favor.” The words just rolled off her tongue in this festive, rowdy piece.
Once it was established James can handle all manner of country and western expression, it was no surprise to see her finessing the lyrics to Blake Shelton’s “Texas.” making it at once a bit sad and a bit mysterious while being a fun song to move and sing along to.
Lexi James and Wildheart breathed fresh life into monster classics “Edge Of Seventeen” and “Jolene.” The band nailed the determined groove and fierce melody of the Stevie Nicks classic before capturing the rollicking groove to Jolene. James held her own against the firm focus of “Seventeen” before jumping into the expansive expression of the Dolly Parton flagship number. She delivered the haunting chorus before guitarist Magno played the icy cold lead guitar phrase.
James and Wildheart managed the amicable vibe of “You Look Like You Love Me” which was a fine and dandy duet with second guitarist Kent Vienot. Speaking of Kent, he sand lead vocals on a few numbers, including “Drink In My Hand,” his amicable tone of voice and steady guitar work made this familiar song an audience favorite.
James jumped into the One Tree Hill theme song “ Don’t Want To Be” by Gain DeGraw” with the assertive pluck that song needed. Speaking of pluck, James put across a firm vocal on Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love A Bad Name.”
Lexi James and Wildheart developed the necessary energies for “Footloose,” “Nine To Five,” “Maneater,” “You Oughta Know,” and “Man, I Feel Like A Woman.” James sang through the racing uptempo Dolly Parton lyrics with the right cadences over its thumpy groove and tight ensemble playing, had fun with the Hall & Oates 80s classic, and finessed the strutting chorus to the Shania Twain piece.
James and Wildheart kicked up the heat with Tom Petty’s “American Girl,” revealing how they could rock right out without losing momentum, and, after shifting gears to more modern rock, Kent Vienot delivered a fine, subtle approach to “Wonder Wall.”
The entire outfit turned their corner of Nash Casino into a party vibe with the jumpy disco classic “I Will Survive” and the Kid Rock crowd pleaser “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy.” It was impossible to not want to dance or move one’s feet to their grooves.
A professional band, Wildheart had no problem pouring out the seamless energy of Brian Adams “Summer Of 69” before hitting the country funk of Gretchen Wilson’s “Redneck Woman.” Moreover, James more fully showed her talent on The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” an emotive ballad that found Lexi James being quite emotive, moving her voice through the poignant lyrics like a precision instrument while making her audience feel what this song is all about. This band’s rocked up version of “County Road” was as impressive as their audacious taste to follow it with “I Will Survive.” Getting classy with the timeless “Valerie” found Lexi landing in classic R&B territory with personal style. Likewise, James hit the high pretty notes on Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”
Kent Vienot rocked the room some more with “Country Girl, Shake It For Me,” adventurous with its swiftly sung lyrics. It didn’t hurt that the band could country swing around him while he had fun with this one. “Hey, Bartender” set up the perfect vibe for James and Wildheart to go into James’ original “Throwback Country,” a pretty melody juxtaposed with serious heartfelt lyrics.
Lexi James And Wildheart closed out with “Life Is A Highway,” rocking the crowd with their delivery of the freewheeling rowdiness. Overall, this country outfit that knows how to stretch out into other genres for their live audience showed all kinds of potential. Not only could they handle any kind of material, they never lost their flare, finesse, and their sense of good showmanship. Let’s see how much interest grows in their original music.
