John Merchant (with Greg Miller and Scott Nesbit), Saturday
February 8th, North Grove Brewers
When it comes to the White Lake Music Review, there’s a special place in its history, and in my heart, for North Grove Brewers in Montague. My very first review took place there on February 14th last year when I showcased the Oat Bran Boys. When I heard that John Merchant, a performer I’ve been wanting to see for some time, was performing there last Saturday I knew I had to go full circle, back to where I started, to catch his show.
As a bonus, John mentioned that he was going to be accompanied by his former Dutch Henry bandmate, Greg Miller. When I arrived with a table full of friends to find that the duo was going to be joined by Oat Bran Boys member Scott Nesbit on mandolin, it was bonus on top of bonus.
One could say that’s nothing unusual. Scott (fluent with mandolin, guitar, and bass) is in high demand, playing all over town, with the likes of Tommy Foster, Vertigo, and the Nomads, to name a few. Say what you will. For me it was a cosmic colliding of karmic forces set in place to mark the one-year journey of my local music fan page.
John Merchant lives in Ludington with his wife, Jenifer, son Quinn, and dog Ela. While busy with a day job helping alcoholics and drug addicts navigate early sobriety, he’s a singer songwriter performing solo, as a duo with the above-mentioned Greg Miller, and in various other projects including “Ghosts of Sunset” which features a cast of musicians with their roots in the 1980’s Los Angeles hard rock/hair metal scene and has been signed to Australian record label Golden Robot Records.
He also co-wrote and played all the guitar parts for the song “Ashes and Bone” which appeared in the movie “On Fire”. Check out his web site and Facebook pages for more information, along with local event dates: https://johnmerchantmusic.weebly.com/https://www.facebook.com/john.merchant.108, https://www.facebook.com/ghostsofsunset/
The Trio started off the first set with an awesome version of The Band’s “The Weight” with extended guitar and mandolin solos (video). After that, they jumped right into Waylon Jennings’ “I Ain’t Living Long Like this”.
This is an important stopping point. When John told me, in initial communications, that he was going to perform a mix of his originals and “Americana Covers”, I took it for granted that he was referring to Americana music most other people are playing – you know, Lumineers, Tyler Childers, Zach Bryan. I was mistaken. In this case he was referring to outlaw country and truck driving songs (more on that later) which was a pleasant surprise.
After playing Steve Earl’s “Copperhead Road” and (throwing the audience a curve ball) Grand Funk Railroad’s “Bad Time to Be in Love” the trio performed an original, “Midwest Blues”. Midway through, John broke a string, re-tuned on-the-fly and kept it going. That’s live music. It’s raw and in the moment, unpredictable.
After a quick string change, while Scott and Greg entertained the crowd with CCR’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain”, the set continued with Merle Haggard’s “Working Man’s Blues” followed by one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs “Dead Flowers”.
“ Well, when you’re sitting there in your silk upholstered chair
Talking to some rich folk that you know
Well, I hope you won’t see me in my ragged company
You know I could never be alone.”
Scott leaned into John’s mic to add backing vocals on the chorus, and provided a cool instrumental twist with the mandolin, adding the main riff from Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” to his swirling layers of mandolin riffs.
The set rolled on, Dave Dudley’s truck driving classic “Six Day’s on the Road” (which has been covered by everyone from George Thorogood to Sawyer Brown), and Neil Young’s “Cinnamon Girl”. More on Neil Young Songs later…
Next came what Greg described as his “favorite John Merchant original “Railway Town” (video). He wrote it while working on the Badger Cross Lake Ferry in Ludington. Take a listen! If comparisons must be made, I’d liken it to a Bruce Springsteen “Born in the USA” era storytelling tough-times ballad.
The evening just got better and better. More Waylon Jennings, in this case “Black Rose” and R.E.M.’s “Don’t Go Back to Rockville”. Wow, it’s been way too long since I’ve heard that one!
The truck driving theme continued with Buck Owen’s appropriately titled “Truck Drivin’ Man” before they indulged me with one of my favorite Turnpike Troubadours songs “Good Lord Lorrie” (Video).
“ And I’ve been learning that believing
And that barely breaking even
It’s just a part of life for you and me
And I’ve been living with the loneliness
It’s got down in my bones I guess
It’s just another phase of being free”
There were too many songs to mention them all. Songs by The Who, John Mellencamp, Johnny Rivers, Elton John, Johnny Cash. You’ll just have to see John (in one of his musical iterations) the next time he’s playing in the area to be in the know.
I’d like to circle back (just as my return to reviewing a show at North Grove was a circling back) to the Neil Young cover I spoke of earlier. John did another, one of my favorites, “Helpless”. I wish I had recorded it, but I was too spellbound. It was uncanny. He sounds just like Neil Young! Every voice inflection was perfect. It was remarkable. I’ve never heard anybody sound closer. Hearing it, setting everything else aside, is worth heading out to one of his shows. Take my word on that!
The trio closed the evening with a rollicking version of Springsteen’s “Born to Run” (video) with a beautiful melodic guitar solo by Greg. It was a great way to close out an amazing evening of music and a great way to punctuate the one-year journey of this page so far. It felt very personal. I like to think it was John’s way of telling me that what I’m doing is making a difference, just as what he’s doing makes a difference….
North Grove Brewers
North Grove is an awesome local brewery featuring a great selection of fresh-brewed beers on tap plus an assortment of wines, spirits and signature cocktails.
They have weekly events including the “Oat Bran Boys” (with musical guests) who perform table to table, “Dumber by the Beer” trivia, live music on Friday nights, game nights, and community events like the recent “Brews & Peruse – Puppy Love Market” with proceeds going toward Pound Buddies.
They offer a fun “clubhouse” environment (with the area’s best collection of pinball machines, darts, and other amusements) and a good selection of award-winning sandwiches and other items from their kitchen. Check them out at https://www.facebook.com/northgrovebrewers
