Concert Review: Old Crow Medicine Show

You may not realize it, but I guarantee you know the band - Old Crow Medicine Show. The string band / country / alternative / blue-grass / folk group from Nashville, Tennessee rolled into Jannus last week for their first ever concert in St. Pete. And the wait for fans of the group was well worth it!

Old Crow hit the stage right around 9pm, following the support of opener - Black Lillies. The seven man group attracted a fairly large crowd to Jannus, but the venue was not completely sold out. OCMS has released four studio albums since their inception in 2000, so have built a solid following. I am most familiar with them from their railroad revival tour, where they toured the states by train, opening up for Mumford and Sons. (For any fan of these bands, check out Big Easy Express.)

The Nashville boys wasted no time getting to work as the show started promptly at nine and jumped into fan favorite, "Alabama High Test," early in the set. This tune gives you a fair overview of the band, balancing multiple vocal harmonies with foot-stomping ferocity.

The group is mainly led by Ketch Secor, who did most of the talking in between songs. He is the lead vocalist but it felt as though all members of the group made their contributions throughout the night. In fact, one of the main reasons OCMS were so enjoyable to watch was simply the size of the band. At all times, there were 7 band members on stage. (Sometimes even more when opening acts joined in) The members showed great versatility, often changing instruments each song. With banjos, fiddles, and upright basses, it seemed almost impossible for anyone to be bored watching this act.

Of course the song that OCMS is most well known for is bar-anthem "Wagon Wheel." Yes, although country star Darius Rucker won a Grammy for this single, it was Old Crow that originally recorded it after Bob Dylan handed off some unfinished lyrics to the guys. They were never able to get it to a top 40 radio hit, but it's still a pleasure to hear live.

Unsurprisingly, "Wagon Wheel" was the largest sing-a-long of the night. This was by no means though a one hit wonder show. The crowd sang proudly throughout the concert, most prevalent on "We Don't Grow Tobacco" and "CC Rider."

Another one of the highlights on the night was "Methamphetamine," a crowd pleaser that tells the story of poverty alleviated by the horrors of meth trade. This song is highlighted by a wailing harmonica and sounds like it belongs on a video compilation for "Breaking Bad."

The final jam of the set had Secor introduce the band. Each member played a solo snippet and a quick one liner from assorted OCMS songs. The front man was the last introduced before playing a few lines of "Tell It To Me" to close out the set.

Old Crow didn't even bother exiting the stage at the end of the set, as the hyped up crowd was certainly ready for an encore. The guys made some great choices. After speaking briefly about Florida, they went into John Anderson's "Seminole Wind." The very last song of the night was universally-loved "American Girl," the Tom Petty classic.

I knew Old Crow Medicine Show would be an entertaining group to see, but they impressed me even more than expected. They're a big band that is simply fun to watch. I feel I can relate this show most closely to the Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero's concert at Jannus last fall. Both shows featured large bands and their concerts flew somewhat under the radar not selling out. But both made it fully worthwhile for fans in attendance.

I sure was glad to be in attendance and I know everyone else at Jannus was too. I'm putting this in my Top 5 for 2014 so far.

CONCERT RATING: 4 Stars


*Poor Quality Video


Dream Team:
br />