J. Roddy Walston & the Business incited a dance riot at the Bottleneck last night

J. Roddy Walston & the Business
The Bottleneck, Lawrence
Monday, October 6

J. Roddy Walston & the Business took the stage in front of a packed Bottleneck crowd last night. Their recorded material has always been intriguing, but live, this band is a powerhouse. Second song in, J. Roddy himself was building the crowd up like a vintage soul singer, begging and pleading like James Brown himself, and the audience ate it up, screaming and yelling, like they couldn’t wait until the next song.

Watching Walston switch back and forth between standing and conducting the audience like he was a Baptist preacher and pounding the keys like the long-lost grandchild of Jerry Lee Lewis, it was hard to decide what you wanted more. His energy and verve were absolutely riveting, and the band backing him was a groove-making machine.

“The people that came before – they didn’t tell you rock and roll was dance music,” Walston said, and he was so right. His band had such a groove to it, that you couldn’t but help move and shake, rocking your hips as the band laid down a melody that took hold of you.

Songs like “Caroline” were slow-burn sing-alongs, with the crowd clapping and providing a choir of backing vocals, while “Same Days” and “Heavy Bells” were exhortations to dance like the morning would never come. You could hear the crowd yelling along to “Heavy Bells” from half a block away. The crowd — full of double-fisting, beer-drinking, shot-taking party fiends — was into this music from note one, and seemed almost sad when the last notes of “Used to Did” faded out.

Fly Golden Eagle are ATO Records label mates with J. Roddy and company, and are the openers on this tour. They rock a more straightforward blues rock than Roddy, and definitely aim for a Southern-fried sound, like a more-restrained Black Crowes. Fly Golden Eagle have a nice bit of oomph to their chooglin’ boogie, but it’s pretty standard. They weren’t blowing minds at the outset, but people were appreciatively polite. However, as their set went on, the energy level got higher and higher, and the songs rocked a crazy vibe that got more rock and roll, but their drummer was playing jazz on the jams, making for a set that’s hard to discount how effectively it set the stage for the headliners.

It was local openers Hembree’s second show, having played their only other show at the Plaza Art Fair. The band is a reconfigured Quiet Corral, and features a tightened version of that act’s dreamy pop. This is more rooted in rhythmic energy, bringing up the energy level and really drawing the crowd in. The songs swelled and built, culminating in the huge pop wave of a song called “New Oasis,” which left me wanting to hear more.

J. Roddy Walston & the Business setlist
Sweat Shock
Full Growing Man
Marigold
Take It As It Comes
Don’t Break the Needle
Hard Times
Caroline
Brave Man’s Death
Heavy Bells
Don’t Get Old
Same Days
I Don’t Wanna Hear It
Midnight Cry
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Boys Can Never Tell
Use Your Language
Used to Did