St. Paul and the Broken Bones

St. Paul & The Broken Bones: 5/23/23 “I put my name in the hat for all the free ticket contests, you can’t win if you don’t play. So far this year has been very advantageous for me, St Paul tickets being my fourth big win. The concert was held at a favorite of mine The Miller in Augusta, my seats —front row center balcony. In full disclosure I had to do some prior-to-show homework on the 8 piece Southern Soul band from Birmingham. Formed in 2012 they’re one of the newest bands I can remember seeing as a headliner in quite a while, the other being Greta Van Fleet. As I worked my way through their 5 albums (with 5 charted singles) it wasn’t difficult to latch onto their soul man style tri-horn and Hammond sound. Salute to some good newer music! Arriving at the venue and just prior to taking my seat up top I flashed my membership fab and headed down the orchestra isle for a close-up of the stage. From L to R the set up was: Hammond organ, guitar, drum kit (with what appeared to be a tabletop fan’s grill design on the drum head), bass, three piece horn section and additional keys. In the background were four upright standing circular lights which had the appearance of the inside of a concave fabric snap or a socket wench piece. Orange amps were stacked on the stage and there were no video screens. The Broken Bones who had just sold out the Peace Center in Greenville on Sunday maintains quite a following and it didn’t take long to fill the venue. At 8:30 p.m. the band (without singer Paul Janeway) took the stage beginning a 1.35 hour / 18 song set with the unrecorded instrumental ‘Chicken Pox’. Upon entering on stage Paul shouted out, ‘How are you doing Augusta GA?’ and burst into the first of a total of five songs from the debut (and best in my estimation) album ‘Half The City’. The Saint himself (so named for his lack of vices) who at one point was a preacher in training, is a dynamic lead singer and without doubt the leader of the band. Working the crowd skillfully, he made his way through selections from each of the albums and landing on ‘Sanctify’ he took to the isles. Literally he walked the isles on both sides of the orchestra while singing, then climbed the stairs up to the balcony. Stopping he mounted the balcony railing just nine seats over from us and sang outward toward the band on the stage below. Why stop there, next we had ‘Band Instrumental Jam I’ featuring solos by Jesse Phillips on bass, Al Gamble on keys, and finally Browan Lollar on guitar. Honing things back in Paul addressed the wound up audience, ‘Calm down, we’re all together tonight, alright?’ He then introduced the first of two songs off the new record ‘City Federal Building’. ‘It’s about my daughter who was at the time in 2020 not born yet so they told me to write a bunch of letters before she’s born and that’s the record that came out a couple weeks ago, so a sentimental record with terrible advise and probably when she’s a teenager she’ll hate it so much.’ It didn’t take all but one song to shift the tempo back up full throttle again with ‘Like A Mighty River’ Paul pulling his bass player across the stage by his guitar cord reeling him in like a fisherman. With a ‘If your gonna groove now’s the time’ he introduced the #31 ‘GotItBad’. Then with a ‘Y’all havin a good time? We’ll it’s about to get better!’ a second instrumental jam commenced, this time featuring the horn section. Chad Fisher performed an amazing three minute solo on trombone. When’s the last time you heard a trombone solo LIVE? Next Amari Ansari on saxophone took to the audience isles to finish it up, his motto, ‘Everything’s a stage if you make it one!’ Allen Branstetter on trumpet held everything together in perfect balance. A rousing rendition of their #3 ‘Apollo’ brought the regular set to a conclusion. A four song encore began off acoustic with another from the new record ‘Lonely Love Song’, Janeway cautioning us, ‘It’s acoustic so if you don’t like it, don’t tell us alright, this song is off the new record, this song is for my little girl’. Everyone liked it. St Paul could do no wrong vocally, his range has been described as impeccable and unmatched from massive high pitched belts to calm quiet whimpers. ‘Broken Bones And Pocket Change’ the first song Janeway and Phillips ever wrote that give the inspiration for the band’s name followed. While singing the song Paul literally crawled the stage losing both shoes in the process. He finally reached the drum riser and stripped off it’s curtain and wore it like a bed sheet. Ending the song there was a round of applause for drummer Kevin Leon, Paul informing us that he had been in the emergency room at 4:30 a.m., ‘We didn’t think we were able to play the show tonight, he has been a champion tonight.’ The evening concluded with their #’6 Call Me’, everyone on their feet. There was an unannounced opener ‘Rich Ruth’ from Nashville [ambient electronic/spiritual jazz]. It was only their second show with St Paul. Rich aka Mike with Charlie, Taylor, and Sam on saxophone performed a 30 minute / 5 song instrumental set. NPR has labeled St Paul as one of the nation’s best live bands, a tight ensemble with a retro-soul sound, balanced drumming, a grooving bass, individual horn solos and a dynamic lead singer. This show was a big win for a music lover such as myself!” Review and photo by DAve (Concert #783)

What an amazing gig, perfect venue (not too big) and the band were incredible (as usual). Paul's voice cuts through your spine and leaves it tingling. The Broken Bones are fine musicians and the sound is fantastic. Paul entertains and brings out the passion in his singing and musicians. He said "I'm coming to see you" and proceeded to walk through the crowd and performed stood on the mixing desk at the back of the room for my favourite track. Looking forward to next time.

St. Paul & the Broken Bones always put on a fantastic show! The band is funky and tight, Paul is an amazingly soulful singer. When he climbed to the top edge if the second story party porch and sang from there, it was an electrifying moment.

One of the most tight, entertaining groups on a stage anyone can see right now. My wife got tickets for my bday, and it was an awesome gift. The funk and soul is alive with St Paul and the Broken Bones. Love yall.!

Unfortunately Paul got sick at the last minute, Fortunately KINGFISH was playing in Royal Oak and he was KILLER! Hope Paul is OK and hope to see them in the future!

Amazing show to have as my first post-pandemic outing. The band were minus their guitarist, who couldn’t get into Canada for some reason, and still played a blinder

Loved it! Paul Janeway has a phenomenal voice. The energy and the music was an out of body experience. Sooo good! The visit to the Loge and Balcony a beautiful touch. One issue I had was the center small screen with the neon around it. It has truly annoying. Felt myself looking at it , was a distraction . It’s was in the way of the big screen, images were like an after thought that was not placed correctly. Ditch it. Now on to the future , Can’t wait to see them again in Asbury Park this summer!! With capes ?

Can't wait to see them again! The opening act - Thee Sacred Souls - was awesome! Great choice!

Absolutely brilliant, what a band, what a voice!! It's so incredible tot hear this man. The range of his voice is just crazy! Reaching the high or the Low notes, his voice is so pure, can't describe it! If you have the chance, go see them, you will not regret it!!!

That voice goes on forever. He walked out through the crowd during the encore giving everybody some love. They even successfully called on the rain.

Great! The lead singer came down into the crowd and didn’t miss a beat. Might have been lip syncing but I couldn’t tell. It was very entertaining!

Incredible! Outstanding! Paul Janeway’s passion and vocal range are unbelievable and band blows the roof off. This is what soul music is supposed to sound like - go see these guys!

Band was great. Paul was great. First time to venue, its just a big bar. People talking the whole time.

This show was so awesome! It ended up raining but the rain added to the awesomeness! Everyone was dancing and singing in the rain...it brought love and togetherness...it felt like a tiny Woodstock!😁🥰

Amazing! It was Paul’s birthday and he gave Nashville the gift of a signing and amazing afternoon show just for buying the album.

2nd time seeing these guys. Abbreviated set due to severe weather moving the show inside. Nonetheless, SP&TBB proved again that they are one of the best live acts in the country. Awesome show!

Spectacular performance in front of what appeared to be a partly disinterested audience. I enjoyed finally seeing/hearing them live after two years of listening. I loved it!

Amazing concert! St Paul and the Broke Bones put on a great show. The only drawback were the people who chose to talk loudly throughout the concert.

The opening act Diane Coffee was amazing. one of the most spectacular preformances I have ever seen. St. Paul and the Broken Bones never fail to put on shows that shakes every cell in your body. One of the best bands of today.

Absolutely amazing. I'm still in awe at how exceptional every member was at their instruments and the energy. The presence they brought was something I've never really seen before. I'd recommend anyone to see them in a heartbeat! I'm 17 and consider myself an old soul and I felt as is I had traveled back in time and it felt amazing to see that modern day blues has promise.