Buffalo Gospel- District 14 Brewery, 5/27/16

photo by Will Piper

This past Friday,  music fans who attended the sold out show at Bayview's quaintly intimate District 14 Brewery were treated to outstanding Americana music at its best to kick off their Memorial Day weekend.  Buffalo Gospel, a band I once declared "Milwaukee's best kept secret," continues to gain new fans and momentum.  Their fan base has certainly grown as they take a hiatus from summer touring to enter the studio to record their much anticipated second full-length record, a follow up to 2013's We Can Be Horses.  The band has undergone a lot of growth and transformation in the past eighteen months, as they now regularly perform as a quintet with Field Report guru Christopher Porterfield joining them on guitar.

As the band is becoming more accustomed to the tighter quintet arrangement, vocalist Ryan Necci is simultaneously  cutting loose and allowing his fantastic vocal range to soar.  Necci's lyrics have always been great but his vocals recently have reached a new level of depth and soulfulness.  I had the great pleasure of attending the "How to Write a Popular Song" show curated by Christopher Porterfield this past winter as part of the final days of the Alverno Presents series.  While that entire performance was outstanding, a certain number, "Hello Central, Give Me Heaven," gave me serious chills with the intense vocal range Necci displayed.

Moving forward to last Friday's performance, the highlights of the show featured Necci cranking on the vocals alongside the steady beats of Nick Lang on the drums.  Lang's skills are noteworthy as the band has relied increasingly on tight rhythm arrangements to help drive their sound.

The show highlight from last Friday was a newer track, "High Time To Hang Fire," which featured Necci's vocals at their finest.  This new track is one of the ones that will soon be featured on Buffalo Gospel's second full-length release.  The great news to report from the show is that I still get goosebumps from listening to Necci sing, whether it is paying homage to the work of Charles K. Harris at the Alverno show or exploring original compositions.  I have a feeling that Buffalo Gospel will only get tighter and hone in on their soulful Americana sound when we see them play again this fall.

photo by Nathan Meilke

Setlist:
Set I:
Homeless
Hill Outside My Home
Hard Labor Side of Gettin On
Waiting For the Lights to Go Out
Letters to Georgia
She Ain't Gonna Hold
Old I Do of Mine
Lonestar
When Lonesome Comes Calling
Can't Afford to Die

Set II:
The Western
Song of the Ox
Mule
Hoarse as a Crow
18 Wheeler
High Time to Hang Fire
On the First Bell
If I Was the Last Man
Son of a Gun