April Cushman Band; Loretta’s Last Call
April Cushman Band play with a mule kicking energy and their gig last Friday night at Boston’s Loretta’s Last Call was 120 proof. The rhythm section behind Cushman play with a cracking smack. Her lead guitarist John Andrews hits his high notes and feisty chords with plenty of force and with plenty of detail. Cushman can finesse a tender song before belting out a more rocking country song. Her calls, hollers, and yelps between songs indicate she’s probably a real loudmouth when she’s working on her farm up in New Hampshire. That’s a nice way of saying she’s a strong singer but I wouldn’t want her for a neighbor or a co-worker.
Cushman and her hard driven crew opened with “Heads Carolina” which might be a trend in the country western scene as I heard another honky tonk outfit open with a few months ago. Yet, Cushman and her boys hit it hard with a good honk tonk vibe, tasteful guitar picking, and Cushman’s country girl timbre, a chirpy vocal that finds a good home among country idioms. This crew also went into the sly hooky song “Hole In The Bottle” marked by more good lead guitar work as much as Cushman’s delivery of the witty lyrics.
This band’s delivery of Rascal Flatt’s “Life Is A Highway” indicates why they go over well with their audiences, which numbered about 300 good ole boys and gals by the time I had to hop the subway back to the burbs. The Rascal Flatt’s song, like many good country songs these days, borrows a lot of elements from rock and roll. It’s driving groove, excitable guitar parts, and its made for belting lyrics got a good going over from this team who were pretty convincing at country and western even though not one of them ever wore a cowboy hat all night. What’s up with that?
This group’s delivery of “Sweet Home Alabama” showed the close relationship of today’s country to southern rock. Its wide vocals and perky lead guitar work straddled both worlds. Cushman’s original song “Ain’t No Stopping You” featured some of the band’s best mule kicking action, a release of pure energy in each meter as the band hit it fine and fierce, Cushman landing her vocal lines like a punch. She meant business.
“Summer Of 69” showcased this outfit’s ability to capture the vibe of a popular song with its freeway vocal style and note nudging, free spirited vibe. “Folsom Prison Blues” let the crowd see that Cushman could be mean enough to shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die. She sang this coolly, like she was taking her gentle time. Meanwhile, the rhythm section cooked up a train shuffle and the lead guitar notes dripped gingerly with melodic feel.
The Cushman Band covered a wide ground, offering an extremely funked up of version of “Your Body” before later performing a touching rendition of “Mama’s Broken Heart.” That’s quite a range. I’m not sure if audiences will ever tire of hearing “Don’t Stop Believing,” and “What’s Up” but Cushman’s audience certainly wasn’t wary of either, as they slow danced to the 4 None Blondes song and hooted and hollered along to the Journey hit. It certainly didn’t hurt that bass player Dean Dino Monoxelos and drummer Phil Sica put all of their muscular low end and punchy fills into things all night. It was unclear, though, why Cushman called Monoxelos a “grumpy Greek.” He was just minding his own business being low key on his side of the stage.
Cushman is a dye in the wool country singer, with equal ability to channel Gretchen Wilson songs as well as hit the sweet spot with the Lambert number. Cushman was so animated on the rockin’ country material that it made it easy to picture her being good in a fight and out wrestling a hog. She also dug deep into the gentle spirit of the tender songs and brought out that vulnerable vibe as well.
The band’s strongest number at Loretta’s was Cushman’s original “My Own Damn Money,” a number loaded with a lot of action packed motion. Not only was the band jacking up the live wire feel, Cushman sang it like a woman who means business, her pride combining with the kind of vocal power that impresses while also making one hope she conducts herself with good manners. Can you imagine making her mad? She showed some sense of humor with refrains from Sam Hunt’s “House Party.” I’m not sure what Cushman is going to accomplish with recent appearances in Iceland, Denmark, Nashville, and Florida. She’ll always be a pretty strong draw right here in New England. She likely convinced her 300 plus audience of that last Friday.
