Explosive alt-country lineup ignites Barley’s on a Thursday night
Bill Foster, our intrepid photographer who captured the images you see here, took a break from shooting another gig down the street and popped into Barley’s with his camera on Thursday, Oct. 5, during the headlining set by Sarah Shook & the Disarmers. While he was there only briefly, he made the most of it by making a groundbreaking suggestion: that BLANK, a media apparatus that specializes in entertainment journalism, ought to post a bit more regularly about the events its representatives attend. “What a novel concept!” I thought, appreciating the golden goose that he had provided while realizing for the very first time that the performances we experience could translate into readable content.
All sarcasm aside, Old Man Foster made a commendable recommendation, and this piece is an initial step toward covering the Knoxville live-music scene in greater detail.
Walking into the Old City taproom a few minutes past 8 o’clock earlier in the evening, Molly Martin and her backing band had already kicked into high gear. There’s always a weird transitional period at the venue that occurs as the dinner rush winds down and the later crowd shuffles in. When the show is ticketed and starts as early as this one did, the awkwardness is even more pronounced. And when the opening act is as unabashedly confrontational as this indie-rock outfit was, the people-watching can be as pleasurable as anything happening onstage. While a ginned-up cover of Natalie Imbruglia’s “Torn” was palatable enough to the families and couples finishing their pizzas, the brutally confessional lyrics of “Someone That I Used to Hate” didn’t seem to go down as well. When the four-piece turned in a killer “I Like Losers,” no amount of ’90s nostalgia or guitar heroics could mask the clever kiss-off track’s endearingly churlish sleaze, and a mass exodus was underway. Those folks’ loss, though, as the group sounded excellent on the night, and Martin proved to be an engaging, engrossing performer who is clearly on the up. Now that she’s a Nashville resident, hopefully she’ll make more trips eastward.
Scott H. Biram was next up, and the veteran songsmith did not disappoint. Drawing from an extensive catalog and wowing with his simultaneous percussion skills and mastery of the axe, the native Texan ripped through a set of plucky, punky blues numbers. Frequently bantering with the audience between songs, Biram was both gregarious and appreciative, at one point thanking a boisterous group of long-haul truckers (who had driven more than 12 hours just to see him play this gig) for being there. Announcing that the next song would be his last, he nevertheless stayed onstage for several more, which delighted the ever-growing crowd. Biram’s approachability and generosity even extended to the restroom, where he was receptive to my kudos on what was a thoroughly enjoyable performance and offered an explanation for his prolonged posture at the urinal: six whiskey shots in fairly quick succession.
A little bit country – but far more rock ‘n’ roll than the last time I’d seen them – Sarah Shook & the Disarmers came out swinging for the fences right around 10 p.m., pounding out hit after hit of crunchy, slightly pastoral alt-rock. Featuring a retooled lineup that included lead guitarist Blake Tallent, Shook’s bandmate in their indie side project Mightmare, the group’s sound reflected the stylistic shift heard on its most recent effort, 2022’s “Nightroamer,” Even Shook’s vocals largely lacked the prominent twang that punctuated their first two albums. While the older material, like a nimble rendition of “Keep the Home Fires Burnin'” and a gorgeous “Dwight Yoakam,” packed plenty of punch, it was the new stuff that made more of an impression. Fresh, riveting and delivered with zeal, those tracks hit harder, both literally and figuratively. Tight yet airy, they allowed space for the band members to coalesce around sonic ideas and explore them in protracted jams. Nick Larimore was the quintet’s secret weapon, a baby-faced assassin who magisterially manned the pedal steel and provided additional effects throughout the night. Achieving sobriety after years of alcohol abuse, Shook’s execution is noticeably better and more confident than it used to be, which suggests that great things are afoot for a singer-songwriter already awash in creativity.
