The Covid-19 pandemic may be pretty much in the rearview mirror now (for the most part), but while we are happy to be rid of this pesky nuisance, it did sadly take with it plenty of prisoners. Prior to this dark period of the modern era, our good friends at Flat Nickel Presents had worked incredibly hard to grow and nurture a vibrant live music scene here in our own local community. And just as the team were building momentum, along came that global punch to the gut that both deflated and destroyed their vision and their efforts. Thanks Covid – not!
Not satisfied with taking away their vision and efforts, the pandemic loitered long enough to close many small businesses, including The Thought Lot, the venue owned and operated by our friends as a dedicated space for music and arts. It truly was a sad day when the bulldozers moved in and turned the former industrial space into rubble. Many may just see this as a destruction of bricks and mortar, but for us local live music devotees, it was the emotional loss of the collective community spirit a music room brings that would be sorely missed.
After a lengthy hiatus, Flat Nickel Presents are back! Generating a local buzz and utilizing their connections to bring live music back to the area (partnering with local spaces), they recently announced their preliminary summer/fall season concert series here in our part of central PA. And with popular Nashville-based roots rockers (and The Thought Lot alumni) John Hollier and The Rêverie in town to kick off that schedule on a Saturday night in late August, how could we stay away?
Hailing from central Louisiana, John returned to the region with his newly formed Nashville-based band in tow, and brought a ton of energy to an appreciative, music-starved audience at The Creekside Grille. “This is our second time in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, and it’s a real honor and pleasure to be here,” John declared following a rousing performance of “Reckless Love.” “My name is John Hollier, this is The Rêverie, from central Louisiana. So, I moved to Nashville, like everybody else in this country does who likes music and built this beautiful band. This is part of our journey, so thank you for coming.”
Unfamiliar with (and intrigued by) John’s advertised Louisiana swamp rock music, some first impressions were quickly formed. His energy level and stage presence is reminiscent of Americana artist Jeremie Albino, mixing in a little blues swagger (and a generous serving of saxophone), while the songwriting drew similarities to that of John Cougar Mellencamp – the southern cues hitting you, but not of the generic country music variety. The bottom line taken away here is that John and his stellar bandmates commanded your attention from their opening tune, delivering a solid 80-minutes of up-tempo, gritty rock and roll.
Following an excellent cover (unexpected, for me, I might add) of “I Ran” – a tune originally recorded by 80s British new wave band A Flock Of Seagulls – John would pause to share some recent and exciting news. “We signed a record deal in Nashville. It’s a one album deal, and we’re really, really excited about that,” he announced. “We haven’t put anything out yet though, in a year and a half, and we found out two weeks ago that on September 26th, we’re gonna put out our first song.” And offering the appreciative crowd a teaser of this new music, the band would perform “It Ain’t Love If She’s Lonely.”
Following with a raucous performance of crowd favorite, “Holding Too Tight” – complete with a nice faux ending/pause, and even livelier refrain with some explosive sax that gave this one a strong Blues Brothers vibe – John took time to address the room once more. “I wrote a song specifically about songwriters, and I think the patron saint of songwriters is Jeff Buckley,” he shared, prior to singing “Jeff Buckley’s Ghost” – nice timing, given the recent release of “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley,” a documentary about this artist whose life was taken too soon. “We play a lot of local shows … and this goes out to songwriters, and musicians, and craftsmen, and people who choose to live the dream, and people who support that.”
A great evening of music – as if we expected anything less from our pals at Flat Nickel Presents. With plenty more shows ahead, if you’re in and around our little corner of central PA sometime, we’d love to see you at one of these upcoming events. Music is best enjoyed Live! Better still when it is Local! And as for (sometimes) Loud! – yeah, you’ve gotta have some decibels if you want to raise a roof…
Set List:
- Can’t Say No Tonight
- Rainmaker
- St. Germain
- Reckless Love
- Lay Me Down
- I Ran (A Flock Of Seagulls cover)
- It Ain’t Love If She’s Lonely (Unreleased)
- Holding Too Tight
- Feed The Flame
- Jeff Buckley’s Ghost
- **Unknown Title**
- Saturday Night Polly
- Gonna Love You
- Lonesome Highway
- Juliette
- Hollow
- **Unknown Title**
- Devil’s In The Details
Photo Credit: Flat Nickel Presents – Official Poster
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
