J.B. Beverley – at The Viper Room – Hollywood,CA
July 12, 2011
Tuesday night I found myself in West Hollywood to catch a rare acoustic performance by J.B Beverley in the acoustic lounge at The Viper Room. J.B. Beverley is most recently known as the frontman for his punk band The Little White Pills, and his country western act J.B. Beverley and The Wayward Drifters. He is also been associated with many other acts most notably The Murder Junkies and Bad Habits.This performance was particularly special because it had been quite a while since J.B. has made it out to California. This night brought many friends, fans, and fellow performers such as Carl Raether, Wendy Gadzuk, and Earl Brown.
While a female fronted, second rate Tori Amos sounding Indie band rocked the main stage upstairs a small group of people gathered in the downstairs lounge. A small dark intimate room with candles on the tables, felt more like someones living room complete with a full bar rather than a venue. Never the less it added to the charm and was a comfy place to post up for the next few hrs.
Starting out the evening was solo performer Daniel Capellaro. While his style of music greatly differed the honky-tonk, punk style of J.B. He was a talented singer and guitar player who passionately played an hour of original material. The last song of his set he adoringly dedicated to his parents who were having their anniversary.
The rowdy crowd of J.B. Beverley fans were getting antsy as it neared 11:30. It was clear who the majority were there to see. As J.B. set up for his performance. People started crowding into the room and before you knew it, the small room was packed to capacity.
The set included a couple of duets, including a cover of Concrete Blonde's "Darkening of the Light", with Wendy Gadzuk(Whiskey Bitch, The 440's, and Suckerstar). And at one point, J.B.'s good friend Earl Brown shared the stage with him as they sang "Devil's Road". The fans sang along and were completely engrossed in the performance, tapping their feet and shaking their hips as the two played their hearts out to the small room of people.
Pedal Steel player John Schreffler Jr. known for playing with Shooter Jennings and many other great acts, filled in last minute as a favor for J.B. However you could never tell by their chemistry together that it was their first performance with one another. They vibed well as J.B.'s lead carried John to the next melody flawlessly.
The set list consisted mostly of Wayward Drifter songs, but as the night was drawing to an end and the moment everyone had been hoping for finally arrived as J.B. transitioned from country back to his Punk Rock roots and busted out a couple of Little White Pills tunes, including one called "North to New York" at which time, LWP bass player Carl Raether among other fans jumped on the mic and enthusiastically sang along as the room went nuts. It was the perfect ending to a fun-filled Tuesday night.
Hopefully J.B. Beverley doesn't wait so long before he graces California with his presence again, but until the next time, all who were in attendance will have some great memories to reflect on from that evening!
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-J.Moncrief- Send your comments to the editor HERE
Big Wheel Scene Reporter
More photos of the show can be seen HERE
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