On a warm, balmy evening in Glasgow, the PERNICE BROTHERS put on a performance that only perpetuates their already growing reputation. For the uninitiated, lead singer, main songwriter and all round good guy, Joe Pernice is fast becoming one of the major talents in the alt.country scene. With his six piece band, he has produced three albums of layered, guitar-filled country pop, coupled with intelligent, and at times, caustic lyrics.
King Tut's was almost full for this, the bands fourth appearance at a venue widely regarded as one of the best in Britain. The band were here to promote their new album, "Yours, Mine and Ours", with almost half the set culled from this, their third release. Starting off with One Foot In The Grave, the five-piece band, second guitarist Bob Pernice was mysteriously missing from the line-up, clicked into gear immediately. Next up was another new track Water Ban, before the band turned up the heat with the crowd pleaser Working Girls, taken from their second album, "The World Won't End".
The small venue is notorious for the heat generated within, and as the band progressed with the brilliantly named Ballad of Bjorn Borg, and then the new album's best track Baby In Two, the band and most of the crowd were drenched in sweat. Joe was warming himself to the crowd with his amusing between-song banter. His introduction to Baby In Two produced laughter from the crowd, as he said the song was "a lesson in Biblical text combined with a bad case of domestic abuse". Just before fan's favourite Crestfallen, taken from the first album, "Overcome By Happiness", Pernice joked that Norman Blake, from close friends Teenage Fanclub, loved this song. "You should do" retorted Joe, "I stole every note from one of yours". Listening to the song, it's easy to see what he meant. The Pernice Brothers have been compared to many other acts in the past, Big Star, The Raspberries as well as "The Fannies", but for me, the closest comparison would be with English 80's guitar bands The Cure and The Faith Brothers.
The middle section of the gig seemed to sag as the band played a selection of material from all three of their albums. The crowd were soon pulled back in though, with the beautiful, but sarcastic, Monkey Suit, followed by the rocking 7:30, and then the delicious summer sound of Clear Spot To Breathe. The finale of Wait To Stop, followed by the stunning opening track of the new album The Weakest Shade of Blue, was more than enough to make up for the earlier lull in proceedings.
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The Glasgow crowd was more than vociferous in demanding more, and after a quick wipe-down and a well deserved drink, the band reappeared for the encore. Unfortunately, their lacklustre rendition of The Pretenders' "Talk Of The Town", did the band, and the song, no favours at all. However all was not lost, as the band launched into their devastating, layered guitar classic, Flaming Wreck. As afinal treat, Joe ambled back on stage with acoustic guitar in hand, to finish off with his mum's favourite Joe Pernice song, Bumleg. The song was a bonus for die-hard fans in the audience, as it's taken from one of Joe's solo projects, "Big Tobacco."
After the gig, the band mixed easily with the remainder of the crowd, having a drink, signing autographs and generally chatting about their music. It has been said that some of the Pernice Brothers material fails to make an impression on occasional listeners. This reviewer has a certain sympathy with that view but, and I cannot stress this enough, go and see them live before you make up your mind.
In this setting, their songs take on a broader, hard-edged and more expansive sound than their studio offerings. Guitarist Peyton Pinkerton has some licks to rival the best in the business, while Thom Monaghan is not only an excellant musician, he is an accomplished producer in to the bargain. Regular members of the band, Laura Stein and Mike Belitsky were missing from this tour, but their replacements were more than adequate, Belitsky was replaced by Pat Berkerey from the Bigger Lovers, while Stein's stand-in was James Walbourne, who has played with Peter Bruntnell in the past.
It takes talent, patience and a respected back catalogue to become a recognized force in the music business. The Pernice Brothers have all three in abundance.
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