A little more than two years ago, Saturday, April 9, 2016 to be exact, I saw a show at Roxy and Dukes Roadhouse in Dunellen, New Jersey that turned out to be one of the greatest live music experiences of my life. And for a guy that’s been obsessively going to shows for the past 22 years, it’s truly a special show when it stands out against the hundreds embedded in my memory. And what’s more, on June 16, 2018, I get to go back to the very same venue and do it all over as Matt Witte of Coach N’ Commando is once again opening for JD Wilkes of The Legendary Shack Shakers. And although that does seem like an awful lot of names to remember I hope that you’ll trust me when I tell you it’s so worth it.
I have a tendency to discover a band and completely obsess over them. Right now it’s The Fratellis. Just ask my wife and son because I discovered the Scottish three-piece a short while ago and have punished my family by listening to nothing but them for four weeks straight. In my defense, they’re really, really good. Seriously, check out their discography and email me when you get to a bad song. I don’t expect to hear from you. But we’re not hear to talk about The Fratellis. We’re here to talk about the best damn fingerpicking guitar player I’ve ever heard and a true Kentucky Colonel who made me a believer in the power of the harmonica.
Back in 2016 I stumbled across the music of JD Wilkes and was immediately hooked. Part of me was bummed that I was only then discovering his work, being that he’d been making records since the mid-nineties, realizing how many awesome shows and record releases I missed. But then my PMA kicked in and I found fortune in getting to devour all of his records in one fell swoop, much like a Netflix binge. And binge I did. Just a few short months later, my luck would get even better as Wilkes and his Legendary Shack Shakers were coming through the North East on tour so I grabbed tickets to both the Brooklyn show and the Dunellen, NJ show two nights later. Told you I was an obsessor. In Brooklyn there were no local openers, it was just the two bands that were out on tour together- The Pine Hill Haints and the Shack Shakers. To a guy in his thirties, that is a perfect night. Two bands means I’d probably be home well before 2am. Nothing better. Well, there was one thing better…getting to witness one of the best damn frontmen that I had ever seen. JD owned the stage and commanded the crowd. And hearing him wail away on his harmonica moved me the same way that the distorted guitars of Candiria moved me back when I was discovering heavy music as a teenager. It coursed through my veins and made me feel more alive than anything else I’d ever experienced. Like I said…nothing better. Two nights later I was ready to do it all again but this time the venue was a mere 40 minutes from my house rather than the hour plus it took me to get to pain in the ass Brooklyn. And also my friend Rob was coming along to this one so I didn’t have to be the loner in the corner trying his best not to look creepy. Now I had someone to stand and look creepy with. Here’s the rub- at this show there were two opening bands in addition to the two touring bands. As JD Wilkes would say from the stage later that night “that’s a lot of entertainment.” The first band played and were fine. It was fun enough but it went on for too long. Me and Rob were getting antsy and just wanted to see the touring bands already. We then ran into a friend of ours from “the old days,” Tony Diamond, who told us we needed to check out the next band. He said it was only two guys but if we closed our eyes we’d never believe that a duo could be that powerful. “TWO GUYS,” he shouted as he walked away smiling the smile of a man who knew something that we did not. Being the music snobs that we are, Rob and I ignored Tony’s enthusiasm and complained about how late we’d be getting home that night. Rob went off to get a beer and before he had returned Matt Witte had become my favorite guitar player and his partner in crime, John Swayne, was just as entertaining on the drums. Witte and Swayne, these…two guys, had us completely mesmerized. After each song they played my reactions alternated from laughing in disbelief to what I had just seen/heard to yelling out “HOLY SHIT!!!” Midway through their set we saw Tony Diamond on the other side of the crowd mouthing the words “TWO GUYS.” Spot on, Tony. The Pine Hill Haints played next and were solid but Rob and I spent the majority of their set talking excitedly, like a couple of schoolgirls, about what we had just witnessed. Ever the pro, JD Wilkes led his Shack Shakers to the stage to close out the show and it wasn’t long into their set that he was hanging upside down from the rafters, still singing into the microphone leaving me to believe I was seeing the Dillinger Escape Plan of the rockabilly world. We got home well after 2am, it’s New Jersey after all so we had to stop at a diner to continue talking about what we had just seen. And there’s nothing like coffee and french fries to cap off a perfect night.
In a couple weeks time Rob and I will be back at the same venue and the nice thing about true originals like Matt Witte and JD Wilkes is we’re not going in trying to relive a great night of the past but rather we’re going in to see what they’ll do next. Both Witte and Wilkes released solo albums in 2018, Ol’ Boy and Fire Dream, and both of those albums will be high atop my End of the Year List. Those Scottish guys I mentioned earlier will be on the list too.
Suburban Bourbon 