LIVE REVIEW: The Record Company in Portland, ME (07.31.24)
“I’m in the mood right now” cried The Record Company, and they sure made the crowd howl, with their rambunctious blues rocking set at Aura on Wednesday night. With no walk on music, frills, or introductions, they proved they were down to business with a rowdy “In the Mood for You” complete with harmonica solo, a guitar jam that canvassed the whole stage, and “yeahs” that got the crowd’s vocals warmed up good.
“Hard Day Coming Down” carried on the true spirit of the blues with a forlorn story of woes and bad luck, while “The Movie Song” slowed it down with sweetness-tinged nostalgia. Clean guitar carried the bridge and a sing along chorus brought it home.
Grabbing a stool from the wings, lead singer/guitarist Chris Vos (assisted by their guitar tech/manager/miracle worker Brian) introduced the lap steel for “Rita Mae Young.” The smooth, metallic sounds added an extra element to the single live that had the audience loving every second.
“Man, it’s been a minute. It’s good to see y’all,” Vos spoke out, finally breaking the silence from their music heavy set. Man of few words, he donned the harmonica again for “On the Move,“ a drum and bass jam that highlighted Marc Cazorla and Alex Stiff’s chemistry. Singing and playing into a distortion mic, the grooving track garnered massive cheers.
Taking a bit of an acoustic set break for a The 4th Album feature, with Vos and Stiff sitting on stools and switching to softer versions of their instruments, there was a technical error that Vos joked, “We play with strings, sticks, and skins. Shit breaks. That’s my punk rock moment of the night,” before launching into the soulful “Talk to Me.”
“Roll With It” followed and cooed, “Gotta roll with it, keep on going,” which mimicked the steady, train track beat. A track about, “Getting out of a deep funk,” “I Found Heaven (In My Darkest Days)” concluded the acoustic session by bringing a metaphorical sermon to the southern rock church of live music. “Rise up!” Vos preached before wailing away on a harmonica solo. Thematically aligning the set, massive single “Life to Fix” built back the electricity and had everyone clapping and chanting along.
The sexy, bluesy, slinky “Patterns” set the scene for the barn burner “Turn Me Loose” which had everyone up and dancing to the delicious guitar licks and gravelly wails. “Give It Back to You” dropped the bass down low and featured more harmonica. “And ya only get one ride. One ticket, one time,” Vos howled and whinnied. “I like that hootin‘ and hollerin‘ and having a good time! This ain’t the opera,” he responded to enthusiastic cheers, before taking it way back and slowing it down for oldie “This Crooked City,” featuring vocal acrobatics from Vos and help from Cazorla and Stiff on harmony.
Play Loud charter “How High” had everyone blissfully dancing around before Vos reveled in the adoration and said that their gratitude for fans and anyone who’s taken a chance on them any time since their very first single grows every day. Their former label rep Karen Durkot was also in the house and got a sincere nod and thank you for all she did in pushing the track to radio and helping to break their career. Sticking to their format of being without too many words, aforementioned single, “Off the Ground” followed, with a mean lap steel and earnest “oohs.”
In what was probably the shortest walk off ever, the lights flashed and the band came back on for a song that Vos said, “Goes out to my ma, who would blast this around the house when I was growing up.” The Kinks “All Day and All of the Night” had everyone singing and bopping along, with Vos pointing to different sections of the crowd to finish the “all day and all of the night” lyric.
Ending on a high with “I’m Getting Better (and I’m Feeling It Right Now),” a lively stage crasher made her way onto the stage to dance. “She’s got a good spirit!” Vos cheered while dancing along with the fanatic. Cries of “Alright!” echoed back and put the cap on the high voltage set.
Notable Opener: Portland, Maine’s own Muddy Ruckus, took the stage with their two-piece drum and acoustic/electric guitar set up and encouraged the initially shy crowd to step forward to be blasted with their grungy, bluesy, anything goes rock. Teetering between sweet harmonies and discordant melodies, raging guitar riffs and pedal tricks, and heavy hits on the skins, they won the audience over and had people excited that they were a local band.
