Ryan Bingham – February 25th – Twist and Shout Records

The Scene: It was a fairly typical in-store at Twist & Shout with a hundred or more folks packed into the small area in front of the stage and then people standing in and amongst the racks of records in the back room.

Ryan Bingham: Bingham played a heartfelt, 25 minute, solo acoustic set of 5 songs that drew from each of his last three albums.  After opening with Mescalito’s “Dollar A Day,” he dedicated “Tell My Mother I Miss Her So,” to “all the mother’s in the audience.”  This was almost surely inspired the family with two cute little girls who were front and center for the performance.  Ryan flashed several smiles at the girls and even responded “well thanks,” when one of them squealed “he’s awesome!”

The set then turned toward his most recent release, Junky Star and Bingham closed out the brief show with “Depression,” “Hallelujah,” and “Direction of the Wind,” the latter of which featured him playing slide.  The highlight of the show was without a doubt his passionate take on “Hallelujah.”  The intimate environment and his rough and ragged voice paired with the delicate acoustic guitar just set the song apart from the rest.

Energy: B
Sound: B
Musicianship: B
Stage Presence: B
Set/Light Show: N/A

Overall: B

All Photos by Tim Dwenger