MKE Rocks: Musical Musings About Bands, Concerts, and Being a Music Fan: Spanish Gold- Turner Hall Ballroom, 6/10/14

Spanish Gold is a rock 'n roll super group comprised at its core of three very accomplished musicians, Dante Schwebel of City and Color (and formerly of Hacienda), Patrick Hallihan (of My Morning Jacket) and Adrian Quesada of Grupo Fantasma. Their debut release, South of Nowhere is a rock 'n roll record in its purest form, featuring catchy guitar riffs, melodic choruses, and just the right amount of swing and swagger. The fact that these three men have been in several different bands in their career, boded well for both their musical craftsmanship as well as their presence and performance on stage.

Spanish Gold made a stop on their debut tour in Milwaukee at Turner Hall, and played to a couple hundred enthusiastic fans who were engaged from the first note of "One Track Mind," the first cut from South of Nowhere. Simply put, you can tell quickly when people love what they're doing, and this band clearly enjoys playing together and having fun on stage. The trio were backed on tour with a bass player, a female background vocalist/keyboardist and a female background vocalist/percussionist. This made for almost an iconic "throw back" rock sound which literally got more than half of the crowd out of their seats and bopping along with the tunes.

Their hour plus set comprised of, according to Schwebel at the end of the performance, all of the material that they knew. And, to be blunt, all of it was darn good. Highlights included the excellent percussion from Hallihan on "South of Nowhere," where Hallihan went between his drum kit and a side Latin percussion rig, the shredding of Quesada and Schwebel on "Lonely Ride," the harmonizing between the female background singers and Schwebel on "Shangri La," and, of course the deep rhythmic grooves of "Out on the Street," the featured single played on 88.9 Radio Milwaukee, which contains a ridiculously infectious bass line and chorus.

However, as a surprise to the audience, the band concluded with a cover of Bell Biv Devoe's early 1990's tune (and MTV classic) "Poison" which featured Schwebel singing in falsetto backed by incredibly strong drumming from Hallihan, which perfectly mimicked the drum machine on the original track, but with a bit more gusto.

After the show I was pleased to have the opportunity to talk to Schwebel and Hallihan individually Both men were sincere, genuine, and loved conversing with fans. They took their time with fans, took pictures, and were genuinely appreciative of the crowd's reaction to their music. To quote Schwebel, "We're having a total blast. It's great to just be able to go out there and play some rock." I also even talked baseball with Hallihan which resulted in his idea of a "Little League Pose" photo with him alongside Steven Bloom and myself.

When a band has as much fun on stage playing music as Spanish Gold did in Milwaukee, it's awfully hard not to have a total blast. After all, isn't that what good rock 'n roll is all about?

Setlist:
One Track Mind
Movin' On
South of Nowhere
I Want You
Day Drinkin'
Something in my Heart (Ghetto Brothers cover)
Don't Leave Me Dry
Lonely Ride
Stay with Me
Reach for Me
Shangri La
Out on the Street
Poison (Bell Biv Devoe cover)