Robert Jon & The Wreck - gig review at Gloucester Guildhall

Robert Jon & The Wreck have been mixing a wonderful cocktail of Southern Rock and California Americana since 2011. The band sculpts a return to traditional rock n’ roll and manage its fading roads with stirring tunes and aggressive playing but unlike some bands of the alt-country vein that are similar to them – they have the soul of the genre properly distilled.

Following the release of their critically acclaimed album, “Red Moon Rising”, Southern California’s rock revivalists returned to the UK for an eight-date Spring Tour and brought their high-energy, signature Southern rock style infused with California flair to Gloucester’s Guildhall.

“Red Moon Rising” has been a career-defining release for Robert Jon, bringing new depth to the band’s sound. The album blends powerful storytelling and Southern rock with diverse musical influences, featuring standout tracks like “Ballad of A Broken Hearted Man,” “Give Love,” and “Dragging Me Down.”

But to appreciate the songs fully, you need to hear them played live. Everything is just turned up a notch onstage. They really express themselves in the moment and without gimmicks, except for being wonderful musicians, they are stunning. To see them is to love them.

Since forming in 2011, Robert Jon have taken the Southern rock sound and made it their own, led by frontman Robert Jon Burrison (lead vocals, guitar) alongside band members Andrew Espantman (drums, background vocals), Henry James Schneekluth (lead guitar, background vocals), Warren Murrel (bass), and newest member Jake Abernathie (keyboard). Their stage presence, electrifying guitar work, and rich vocal harmonies are captivating.

Henry James is an awesome lead guitarist, and as much as Robert Jon Burrison is the leader, it’s the “And The Wreck” part that combines to make them special.

There was an air of expectancy as the band strolled onto the stage at Gloucester, followed by a surge of energy as they delivered the double whammy of “Hold On”, from the new album, and “Boss Man” with the “wo-oh” chorus, as groovy as it gets with guitar solos, including a slide from Henry James, without a pause.

“Everyday” follows and then the beautiful “Ashes in the Snow”, dripping with emotion and feel with lyrics like “a house without love is a house full of pain” and a lovely slide refrain. The anthemic song saw the audience dancing and swaying, feeling every note. Masters of light and shade, this is an anthem of hope, but also poignant.

With Robert Jon steering the ship and connecting audience with band seamlessly we slow the pace slightly with new single “Highway”, with guitar harmony parts just before the tasty solo from the incomparable Henry James, and then “High Time” but without any loss of momentum.

The way “Highway” builds into its chorus is astonishing - and for good measure, James rips out another solo as a kind of centrepiece.

Drummer Andrew more than earned his wages with a blistering “Sittin’ Pretty” with drum rolls that were fast, heavy and intense combined with Jake Abernathie’s perfect organ playing. That is the sound of the handbrake coming off and the county line being raced to before the police get a scent of the trouble. Heavy rock’n’roll is distilled brilliantly by true masters of it.

A lasting memory for me is the way while either Robert Jon or Henry James are tuning up guitars, there is no gaps in sound. What happens is either Warren will start a bass riff, or drummer Andrew will hit a beat, which both will take up, often quickly joined by Jake on the keys. Those interactions will often lead into the songs as soon as the guitarists are all tuned up.

Robert is a gruff singer who says little between songs, but a broken snare drum forced him to speak, “I have never talked as much to an audience before, maybe I should have prepared something. A broken snare, broken strings, we are in this together, right?’ he joked.

“Rescue Train”, catchy, classy, and another solo from Henry. He is back at it on “Ballad Of A Broken Hearted Man” playing slide over a full-on Blues number. Among the new songs, this really made an impact. Rockier than its studio counterpart, a piano solo from Jake was followed by a guitar solo from Henry, concentrating to the extent he was almost in a trance.

Robert correctly surmised that the crowd would want to partake in a massive singalong when big hit ‘Oh Miss Carolina’ finally got to the chorus. After encouragement from the lead singer, the song sparked crowd involvement with singing along and swaying of hands.

Whilst the incredible chemistry and incendiary playing of the group shone through during main set closer, “Cold Night” it was turned up another notch with the wonderful final encore number ‘Shine a Light On Me Brother’.

‘Cold Night’ was unleashed on the crowd in its now anticipated long-form version, with an instrumental mini-opera so far removed from its 2015 version on ‘Glory Bound’ as to be unrecognisable. This is not so much a trademark rendition as a right-of-passage.

James and Abernathie are brilliant together, bouncing off each other in waves of freestyle jamming. James’s solos become ever more breakneck, and adrenaline fuelled, raging twin guitars from Robert Jon and Henry come back in with the chorus and the breathless track is brought to a frantic finish.

Always a highlight, a jam at the start, a bass and drums piece for the keys to join in, the whole thing kicked in with its classic Allman Brothers vibe, guitar harmony-wise.

There was no way the crowd were going home without an encore and the band obliged, Epic song “Rarer” providing more memorable moments of fine interplay. Henry Schneekluth cuts loose for the solo and is a joy to behold.

‘Shine A Light On Me Brother” again showing Henry’s prowess on slide, especially as he jammed with guest guitarist Joe Coombes, closes the gig with some more wonderful musicianship. With a beefy riff, an orchestral style arrangement and rapid yet ever melodic, controlled solos, this was a masterly finish.

At their very best, there is no-one to match Robert Jon & the Wreck among the myriad southern influenced classic rockers treading the stages today. But they proved yet again they are not just one of the best southern rock-sounding bands around, but one of the best bands, full stop. Long may they continue to visit the UK.