In 2022 Rosali came to Tubbys and played the best set of music, by a significant margin, I saw that year. I always enjoyed her records. She is a masterful writer who brings raw-nerved honesty and beauty to life in every song. But what happened that night was something totally unexpected. Backed by David Nance’s band, Mowed Sound, they made those songs sound alternately like your favorite blanket during a thunderstorm or a freight train coming at you full speed. This felt like seeing The Band and Dylan finding their footing or Neil Young’s first jams with Crazy Horse. This serious praise probably seems hyperbolic, and maybe it is, but several people I spoke to after that night had similar feelings. At the end of that recording, you can hear me turn to Tubby’s ace FOH engineer Will and say, “HOLY SHIT!” I was hooked.
Flash forward to a few months back when Rosali announced her new album, “Bite Down,” (Merge Records) had been recorded as a band with this same ensemble. Excitement and expectations were high, and the final product delivered on every bit of that hope. The lead single, “Rewind” exhibits the ease with which this band finds its sound. A personal favorite, “My Kind,” is packed with the manic energy of love that makes you feel like you can run through a wall. It’s early in the year, but I struggle to see how this record doesn’t end up very high on my personal “best of” list.
The last test was the live show. Was the feeling in the room that night in 2022 an aberration? Was it really that good? Could it have been that good?
Yes. It’s that good. They are really that good.
Opening with the gentle “May it Be on Offer,” it’s immediately obvious that this is, somehow, a better version of that band from 2022. More comfortable with the dynamics of the songs and not as reliant on their obvious ability to lay waste to a room with force. The journey through the set list lets you experience that change in real time. Starting soft and ending with a ferocious guitar onslaught of “Bones.” If you close your eyes, you can see the faded glory of Rock and Roll and, for a moment, you can believe they are the last ones flying that flag.
I recorded this from the usually spot by the soundboard with my MBHOs and an excellent board patch from Tubby’s FOH engineer Wil. Enjoy!
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Rosali
2024-04-10
Tubby’s
Kingston, NY
Source: MBHO440 + SDB > SD MixPre 3 > SD (24/48) > Adobe Audition/Izotope 9 > Audacity Flac (lvl8)
Thanks to Tubby’s FOH engineer Will for the board patch
- May It Be on Offer
- On Tonight
- Hopeless
- Change Is in the Form
- Waited All Day
- Hills on Fire
- Mouth
- Rewind
- Slow Pain
- My Kind
- Bite Down
- Tender Heart
- Bones
- Whatever Love
Rosali Middleman – Guitar, Vocals
David Nance – Bass, Vocals
Kevin Donahue – Drums, Vocals
James Schroeder – Guitar, Vocals
Support this excellent artist!
https://rosali.bandcamp.com/album/bite-down
https://davidnance.bandcamp.com/album/david-nance-mowed-sound
Support the venues bringing you interesting music!
https://www.tubbyskingston.com/music-calendar
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