Concert Review: Old Crow Medicine Show

The setting is Mississippi Nights and Laclede's Landing in downtown St. Louis. There are people lining up outside only twenty to thirty minutes before showtime. When I make my way inside I head straight for the chairs at stage right. The crowd is diverse to say the least. There's man old enough to be my grandfather sitting beside me, a metalhead sporting his Dimebag Darrell shirt, and even a couple that brought their 5-6 year old son.

The show starts a few minutes late, but I know it's not going to take away from the show. They start with one of my favorites, Tear it Down. The vocals are so fast and loud that the banjo is a bit hard to hear even though it has its own microphone. With the way the crowd hollers and yells their approval after one song I know this is going to be a great show. Even the metal thrasher dude is happy. Blackeyed Susan is next with crisp and bold vocals. Two songs into the setlist you can already see the hair flying off of Ketch's fiddle. Another great reaction from the audience as Big Time in the Jungle. Big Time is a much slower song than the first two but it doesn't slow the dancing crowd at all. A song about a "cold wind blowin through town" is next with strong harmonica and a strong influence of blues is forced. The next song is for the ladies... the old Woody Guthrie tune, Union Maid! What a pleasant surprise! Apparently it's on OCMS's new album Big Iron World, which I bought at the show, so obviously I didn't have the chance to listen to it yet. I forgot I knew this song, but it's been awhile since I listened to any music from my grandparents' record collection. The only lyrics I could muster up were "stick it to the union".



not done yet... I've still got about twenty songs left.... but I'm hungry and need nutrition.