I've been a fan of Black Stone Cherry, ever since their debut record. The boys from Kentucky, serve up a steaming dish of metal tinged southern fried rock, that would make any Allman Brother proud. They consistently put out solid product year after year, which is why these guys continue to grow in popularity. It is hard to believe, that these guys have been around 14 years. It just seems like yesterday, when the debut hit my speakers. That said, the boys have recently released their first live CD/DVD called Thank You (Livn' Live in Birmingham, UK October 30th 2014). I have to tell you, I was extremely geeked, when I got my hands on this one, because I've never seen them live.
The band come out all guns blazing in this live DVD, by tearing through their vast catalog of killer tunes. The band sound great and put on one hell of a show. I was thoroughly entertained throughout this show, with the exception of a few things. One critique I have, is that the camera work is a little spotty at times. I'm not sure if they were going for more of a raw approach, but that is what it came off as. This is not a bad thing, but I would have like to have seen something a little more polished.
My only other complaint was that vocalist Chris Robertson, diverts many of the vocals to the crowd. I get it, it is cool when the crowd sings along, but not to the point, to where the crowd sings the whole song like in Things My Father Said. This is not what you want to see or hear in a live recording. It is cool, somewhat, when you're at the show, but it is really annoying, when you are watching a concert video at home. When I go to a show, I don't want to hear myself or the guy next to me sing, I want to hear the band. Unfortunately, this happens a little too often in this show. Other than this, this was a good show. I just had to hit the FF button a few times, dung the sing-a-longs.
Bottom Line: Black Stone Cherry commanding the stage and putting on one hell of a show. The band sound great, when Chris sings, but it does get a little distracting with too much crown interaction.
-Ragman needs to catch these guys live in the new year.