Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009
The Youngers at South By Southeast Music Feast
The Youngers
The Youngers is an ironic name for the band that brought such old-timey music to the Nov. 7 South By Southeast concert series at the history-laden Myrtle Beach Train Depot.
The Pennsylvania-based, roots-rock quartet performed its modern spin on traditional Americana music at an appropriate venue, too.
Just like the renovated Myrtle Beach Train Depot, where The Youngers played before an intimate but enthusiastic crowd of about 100, its sound was an updated version of vintage classics, like the fresh coats of varnish on the building's worn but sturdy hardwood floors.
Not only did The Youngers throw in a fitting original entitled "Big Ol' Train" that got the crowd clapping in time (coincidentally, this was not the band's first gig at a train station), but it also set the tone for the evening by opening with another original entitled "Old Times."
Despite a mixture of song themes and titles, those tunes typified the brand of alt-country sound The Youngers pounded out like a band straddling two eras. But rather than a rehashing of covered ground, it put a fresh spin on a familiar sound that breaks new territory.
"All of us have our roots in rock, but there's something about that old sound that has inspired us to making the kind of music we do," said The Youngers' frontman, guitarist and lead songwriter Todd Bartolo. "It's more our interpretation rather than an attempt to copy."
The band's distinctive blend of the old and the new was on full display at this show, with originals from its two studio albums filled with alt-country anthems to covers by singer-songwriters from that genre, including Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, Levon Helm and Warren Zevon.
With Bartolo, sporting a Johnny Cash-inspired black jacket, belting out lyrics based on the timeless themes of lost love, jobs and time, while strumming along on the guitar or mandolin, his rangy voice and musicianship took listeners back in time and place.
Bassist Randy Krater provided the perfect blend as a backup vocalist, with his higher notes weaving in nicely with Bartolo's. Krater even went solo on a couple of songs during the two-hour set and laid down the bass lines so important to pulling off the classic sound.
Drummer Justin Schaeffer, wearing his trademark fedora, also provided a beat true to the band's sound, and lap-steel/pedal guitarist Dave Ellis, who is not technically a full-time member of the band, performed flawlessly in delivering haunting, country melodies.
Formed in 2005, the band released the album "Output" and made a small splash in the new alt-country scene. But it was enough to earn them high praise from some of the top artists and producers in the business, which led to the magic captured in its new release.
The appropriately entitled album "Heritage" was recorded at the famous Cash Cabin, the late, great Johnny Cash's home studio just outside Nashville, Tenn., by producer John Carter Cash, who also plays drums on a couple of tracks and brought in other big names.
The 13-song lineup includes help from mandolinist Ronnie McCoury of the Del McCoury Band, former Waylon Jennings' pedal-steel player Ralph Mooney and Laura Cash on fiddle, but the meat and potatoes of the music is written and performed by The Youngers.
The band is getting some air play on alt-country and outlaw-country radio, a well-earned tribute to its balance act between the old and new sounds. It also is gaining critical acclaim after appearing at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville.
The Youngers appeared to win over a few more new fans with its heart-felt performance at the train depot, with many in attendance picking up a CD or T-shirt after the show. With only two albums to its credit, the band played virtually everything it has recorded and more.
The dark-sounding song "Arkansas," inspired by Bartolo's love for old spaghetti Westerns, an edgier, rockier tune entitled "Long Way Home" and an acoustic number named "Madelin" showed The Youngers' roots from its first album, "Output"
Virtually every song from "Heritage" was performed, including the title cut, "Heartbreaker," and the haunting "Highway 9." Songs "Truck Driving Man" and "In the Morning" highlighted the familiar country themes of hard times for the working class.
The tempo seemed to increase throughout the show as The Youngers closed with a series of rocking tunes - "Middle of the Night" and "The Wild Ones" - delivering the musical message that the band is more rock-country than country-rock.
But there's no need for labels as long as the music is pure and true, and The Youngers certainly hammered home that point. Whether its sound is a new tribute to the old or vice versa, The Youngers are pumping out music that is truly timeless.
South by Southeast is known for bringing talented artists to the Grand Strand that are either too small to pack the house at the House of Blues or too big to play at the smaller music clubs and bars around town, and The Youngers are just another example of a ground-breaking artist performing for music-loving locals who probably wouldn't get the chance to see the band otherwise.
Both the band and SXSE are preserving the heart-felt kind of music that never goes out of style.
