Wednesday 21st August 2024

O2 Ritz, Manchester, England

The first singalong of the night belongs not to the Red Clay Strays, nor even to Nolan Taylor, who opens for them tonight, but to the Gallagher brothers. By the time ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis plays over the sound system, the dance floor of the Manchester Ritz has filled. The choicest spots have already been taken along the wooden rails of the upper-level balconies that ring the venue, so I find a place by the metal rail at the front of the floor, just to the left of the stage. The bustling crowd, which had overlooked earlier gems like Johnny Cash’s ‘Ring of Fire’ and ‘Are You Sure Hank Done it This Way?’ by Waylon Jennings, combines to sing along to the nasal strains of Liam Gallagher, the song perhaps the only thing more Mancunian than the rain that has begun to fall outside.

It’s followed by the instantly-recognisable earworm ‘Spirit in the Sky’, and the Red Clay Strays choose this as their entrance music. As the song continues to play, the band take the stage. The Strays are an interesting picture, a mix of styles. Lead singer Brandon Coleman, seemingly a foot taller than anyone else and instantly recognisable with his slicked-back Elvis-style hair, is reliably dapper in a grey suit jacket and formal shoes. He looks like he’s stepped out of the Sun Records office in 1955 and sings like he’s stepped into Muscle Shoals.

Drummer John Hall and guitarist Zach Rishel are more contemporary. Hall, his energy barely contained behind his Ludwig drum set, is casual in a white t-shirt and reversed baseball cap, while Zach, in cap and jeans and carrying a sky-blue Fender guitar, will find time tonight between songs to hit a vape. Bassist Andrew Bishop and guitarist Drew Nix, meanwhile, embrace Americana with Western shirts and belts – Drew goes all-in by adding a big brown cowboy hat, worn as easily as if he’d been born in it. Meanwhile, the bearded, long-haired Sevans Henderson, the most recent addition to the band, looks like he’s been poached from the tour bus of a Seventies band to play keys for the Strays.

But regardless of the eclectic look of its members, when the music starts, these Strays come together into a pack. They tear straight into the frantic rock energy of ‘Ramblin”, moving the needle to 11 the moment they’ve switched on. The song, a studio jam from their recent breakout album Made By These Moments, is followed by the groovy bass notes that announce ‘Stone’s Throw’, from their previous album Moment of Truth. Both albums will find equal representation in the setlist tonight.

It’s a busy stage tonight, and from my position at the front rail I can see that it’s very much a family affair. Brandon Coleman’s wife Macie is among those recording the event, and she seems as big a fan of the Red Clay Strays as anyone. Glamorous in a long, fur-lined leather coat, she is later obliged to remove it due to the heat of the venue, and continues to seek ideal vantage points from which to film.

Also filming is Brandon’s brother Matthew, wielding a professional camera and moving around, often in between the six members of the band on stage during the songs. If this were anyone else it might feel intrusive, but Matthew is a key part of the band and its success – as much a Seventh Stray as there was a Fifth Beatle. Later tonight, Brandon will stand before the mic and attribute much of the band’s viral popularity to his brother’s efforts.

Matthew is also an artist in his own right, writing a number of the band’s finest songs. That’s proven now on stage, as the band follow ‘Stone’s Throw’ with two songs penned by Matthew, the vulnerable, confessional ‘Forgive’ and the tough, strutting ‘Disaster’. “If you’re looking for a prophet, I tell you I ain’t,” Brandon sings in the latter, “but I know when it’s gonna rain.” That might be no great prophecy in the northern city of Manchester, where it rains even on this August summer evening, but it sounds great. ‘Disaster’, telling obliquely the story of biblical kings, is tonight’s first marker for one of the Alabaman band’s most remarkable features: their bold fealty to a Christian mythos and spirituality that never feels preachy or uncool.

This fealty is so measured and relaxed that, for an embarrassing minute, I don’t even register that Brandon is singing “good God Almighty” in the next song, a lusty ‘Good Godly Woman’. My brain registers it as “good dynamite”, although, as the Strays’ songwriting may suggest, it’s not clear which of the two can be the more potent explosive.

For the next song, Brandon invites Nolan Taylor back to the stage. The bearded singer-songwriter from Ohio had opened the night with a fine ten-song acoustic set, delivered in a penetratingly clear voice. Highlights included the lyrical ‘Wicked Ways’, ‘500’ and ‘Driving You Home’ – the latter his contribution to the recent Twisters film soundtrack. (The Red Clay Strays decide not to include their own contribution, the country-rocker ‘Caddo County’, in their setlist tonight.) However, the self-proclaimed hillbilly’s finest song had been ‘Darkness’, written when he was suicidal and “not feeling happy or sad about it”. Its plaintive emotional honesty, punctuated by a haunting whistle, is in keeping with the Strays’ own ethos.

Now his finest moment comes as, following Brandon’s lead, Nolan takes the second verse of ‘Moment of Truth’. Backed by the amplified sound of the Strays, Nolan’s voice soars even further than during his own set, and when he leaves the stage at the song’s end it’s to deserved cheers from the crowd.

As the Strays prepares for their next song, Brandon shakes his shoulders and looks up to the ceiling. He exhales deeply, as though preparing, before taking on the soulful vocals of ‘Heavy Heart’. The song, penned by his brother, is followed by two written by guitarist Drew Nix, ‘Drowning’ and ‘Devil in My Ear’. Both are singles from the recent album, and address directly what has become an integral mission statement from the band.

Brandon introduces the latter by speaking to the audience about the problems of mental health, of feeling depressed and alone and, well, drowning. It’s an important subject and one not often adequately addressed, particularly among men. It’s something I’ve attempted to tackle myself in my own writing, with my novel Void Station One following a man who decides to commit suicide by black hole, and the Strays are articulating it as well as anyone. ‘Drowning’ gets some suitably raw, torn vocals from Brandon, while the moody, bluesy ‘Devil in My Ear’ wraps itself in Sevans’ swarming organ sound and is punctuated by some fine slide guitar from its author, Drew Nix.

At this point, following the early example of his wife, who continues to roam around in her floral-print dress, Brandon removes his suit jacket. He also unslings the sunburst electric guitar he’s been playing for most of tonight’s songs, and takes a seat by Sevans Henderson at the keys. Continuing the themes by which the Strays draw much of their strength, Brandon introduces the next song as being “about feeling hopeless but trusting in Jesus anyway”. Penned by his brother Matthew, ‘Sunshine’ is a heartfelt, classic soul song, its nexus of mental health and spirituality illustrating the importance of the Seventh Stray to the band’s art and message.

‘Sunshine’ is followed by ‘Ghosts’, Brandon getting up from the keys to take centre-stage once again. Just when it feels like it’s over, the song is given a second wind, the band turning it up a notch and drummer John Hall banging away like Keith Moon incarnate. Hall’s been a busy man tonight, frequently wiping sweat from his face, bashing maniacally on his drums, leading the audience in singalongs – standing to do so, as in ‘Sunshine’ – and just all around giving the impression that he’s a man in perfect time, enjoying life in the moment.

He has even more reason to be enjoying tonight; Brandon announces to the crowd that today is John W. Hall’s 31st birthday. The drummer graciously accepts the candle-lit cake that is brought on stage, and the band enlist the crowd to sing along to ‘Happy Birthday’.

We’re halfway through a fantastic, high-energy show; with 21 songs over nearly two hours (not counting the ‘Happy Birthday’ song), the Red Clay Strays certainly provide good value for a night of live music. To the delight of the crowd, the band now step it up a notch, Drew’s slide guitar announcing ‘Wanna Be Loved’, the lead single from their new album. As Brandon strums gently on his sunburst electric guitar, the crowd sings along with him. The song is already a fan favourite.

The vibe of the next song, ‘No One Else Like Me’, is like that of Seventies road-trip music, and it is interesting to see the band shift into the lazy, good-time ease of this different gear. They soon change up, however, giving the song a mad, rocking end. While the crowd roars, Brandon takes the opportunity to swap his electric guitar for his acoustic.

Introduced as a gospel song, ‘On My Knees’ is a kinetic highlight of the night, full of praisin’ and testifyin’ as the crowd claps the rhythm. Brandon lets go, dancing energetically on the spot, his hips moving as vigorously as his legs. In such moments, you remember that American rock ‘n’ roll was once a blend of many styles, of R&B and soul and gospel and country, that Elvis was more than just a haircut and old-time America had a sense of fun and energy to its music, and that the Red Clay Strays are bringing it back. The song’s a throwback that hits home.

It’s at this point, slinging his sunburst electric guitar back on and plugging it in, that Brandon praises his brother Matthew for growing their online audience. Introducing the last Matthew-penned song of the night, the Coleman brothers have left the best for last. ‘I’m Still Fine’ is one of those songs that, in the best possible sense, sounds like you’ve heard it before. Its melody compels instant affection from the listener, and Brandon does his brother’s soulful lyrics proud, sounding like Otis Redding if Otis sang rock ‘n’ roll.

The band as a whole have been a triumph, and as they power through the rocker ‘Doin’ Time’, Brandon replaces many of the lyrics with tributes to each member of the band. The song feels like a closer, and at its end the band leave the stage, though the crowd stamps and roars for an encore. We’re still far from the end, however. For while strong songs like ‘Moments’ won’t get an airing tonight, we still haven’t heard the band’s most viral, vital song, and it’s inconceivable they’d leave the Manchester Ritz without singing it.

Brandon Coleman comes back out on stage alone, and delivers a fine acoustic rendition of ‘Will the Lord Remember Me?’ After it ends, the rest of the band come back out to join him, and Brandon relates the band’s struggles before and during the Covid times. Testifying again to their sense of purpose, the band breaks into ‘God Does’, an overt, unashamed ode to spiritual conviction. Penned by Drew Nix, it offers the guitarist another moment to shine as he breaks out the harmonica, drawing roars from the crowd.

It’s time for that viral song, and every phone is out and raised high as Brandon sings the familiar opening lines to ‘Wondering Why’. This is the song that, for one reason or another, has caught fire more than any other, though the band’s collective songwriting is so strong it could easily have been a number of the others we’ve heard tonight. Drew Nix is the one officially providing harmony vocals, along with some keen notes on his slide guitar, but everyone in the building is singing along. Behind the drums, birthday boy John Hall is singing too, and his tasteful playing shows he’s more than just a wild animal behind the kit.

It’s time for the band’s natural closer. ‘Don’t Care’ is the Red Clay Strays in their groove. The self-penned lyrics are the perfect fit for Brandon’s vocal style, and the song allows Drew and Zach Rishel to build some epic guitar sounds. The song allows John Hall to cut loose, the drummer feeling free enough to throw his sticks in the air at the most cathartic moment. This is a band in their element, when all the years of work coalesce and the end of a long, hard road must feel easy and effortless in the final moments of a song.

But we’re not done yet. “That’s usually our last song,” Brandon says, telling us “we’re in new territory now.” He heads over to join Sevans Henderson on the keys again. “We’ve been told the Beatles played here,” he says, “so we’d like to sing you a Beatles song.”

As an avid Beatles fan, it’s a special moment for me, just as it was when Billy Strings sang ‘And Your Bird Can Sing’ in Manchester last year. “We don’t do this a lot,” Brandon says. “We might mess it up, we might not – don’t judge us.” I find myself thinking what song it could be, and I realise that, such is the versatility of the band and the various influences they incorporate, they could do justice to any number of them.

“Hey Jude,” Brandon sings, piecing together the famous notes on the piano. The crowd picks up on it immediately, and sings along. It’s a rough-and-ready version of ‘Hey Jude’, and as everyone joins in on the famous extended ‘na-na-na-nah’ outro, Brandon’s voice proving well-suited for Paul McCartney’s scat-singing, the Red Clay Strays put their own fingerprint on the song. The tempo increases, with Zach providing a wailing guitar solo and John thrashing his Ludwig drums as Ringo never did. While the other Strays continue to stoke the fire, Brandon gets up from the keys and bows separately to each side of the stage, taking in the applause of the crowd and waving as he does so.

The band play on, the crowd continue to sing, but all good nights of music must end, and at some point it stops. The band bow and wave as the crowd cheers and applauds, and they leave the stage. John Hall, the birthday boy, turns gift-giver, leaning forward from the front of the stage and handing one of his drumsticks to someone a few feet away from me. He raises his beer in salute to the crowd which is now filtering out into the night, and jumps on the back of a roadie. The obliging roadie gives him a running piggyback off the stage, to the cheers of those of us who remain.

But these guys don’t need to be carried. The Red Clay Strays are flying.

Setlist:

(all songs from the album Made By These Moments, unless noted)

  1. Ramblin’ (The Red Clay Strays/Dave Cobb)
  2. Stone’s Throw (Drew Nix/Eric Erdman) (from Moment of Truth)
  3. Forgive (Matthew Coleman) (from Moment of Truth)
  4. Disaster (M. Coleman)
  5. Good Godly Woman (Brandon Coleman/Nix/Brandon Rickman) (single)
  6. Moment of Truth (M. Coleman) (from Moment of Truth)
  7. Heavy Heart (M. Coleman) (from Moment of Truth)
  8. Drowning (Nix)
  9. Devil in My Ear (Nix)
  10. Sunshine (M. Coleman) (from Moment of Truth)
  11. Ghosts (Nix) (from Moment of Truth)
  12. Happy Birthday (Patty Hill/Mildred J. Hill) (unreleased)
  13. Wanna Be Loved (M. Coleman/Dakota Coleman)
  14. No One Else Like Me (B. Coleman/M. Coleman)
  15. On My Knees (The Red Clay Strays/Cobb)
  16. I’m Still Fine (M. Coleman)
  17. Doin’ Time (Nix) (from Moment of Truth)
  18. Will the Lord Remember Me? (E. M. Bartlett) (single)
  19. God Does (Nix)
  20. Wondering Why (B. Coleman/Nix/Dan Couch) (from Moment of Truth)
  21. Don’t Care (B. Coleman) (from Moment of Truth)
  22. Hey Jude (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) (unreleased)

The novel mentioned in this review, Void Station One, can be found here.