Honkytonk Homeslice | 12.01 | London

Words by: Karl-Erik Stromsta | Images by: Lisa Brown

Honkytonk Homeslice :: 12.01.07 :: Green Note :: London, UK

Honkytonk Homeslice :: 12.01 :: London

Generally speaking, it’s a bad thing when a band’s sound system pops loudly and then dies during the first song of the evening. In the case of Honkytonk Homeslice in London, the nasty speaker malfunction forced them to take their microphones down, move to the front of the stage and play acoustically all night long. In other words, it couldn’t have worked more perfectly had it been a pre-planned ruse. Which it wasn’t, right?

This was the last show of the European tour for the band, which includes former String Cheese Incident guitarist Bill Nershi, his vocalist-wife Jillian and their bespectacled bon vivant of a mandolin player, Scott Law. Even before the sound system blew out, the setup was almost impossibly intimate. There are plenty of living rooms larger than the Green Note, a warmly lit, snug-as-Christmas venue in the heart of trendiest Camden Town.

The pre-show scene in the bar was like something from a promotional postcard, a picture-perfect example of why seeing artists overseas is so special: There was Billy, cozying up to his guitar in the corner, eyeing the crowd behind his mountainous silver beard; Law working intently on a pint of the organic house ale; and Jillian, sitting coquettishly near a stack of CDs for sale.

Played on a stage the size of a small rowboat, the show was a well-shaken bag of Homeslice originals, bluegrass standards and SCI covers – a difficult balance for a band to strike, particularly when it has a member whose musical past is as florid and prolific as Nershi’s. They were careful, however, to ensure that the crowd-pleasing Cheese covers – among them “Weary Homesick Blues,” “Barstool” and a magnificent mandolin-driven “Black Clouds” – never threatened to dominate the setlist. The band’s quiver of original material was well played and well received, too.

Honkytonk Homeslice :: 12.01 :: London

It would seem, at first, as if Jillian Nershi were a bit out of her league onstage, book-ended by the instrumental powerhouses that are Nershi and Law. But once her voice has grown familiar, and she’s had a few songs to warm up to the crowd, it’s clear that Jillian’s voice is perhaps the defining sound of Honkytonk Homeslice. Graceful on stage in low-rise jeans and a snug white cowgirl vest, her voice is sensual and emotionally complex, mirroring the music she so clearly loves.

Of course, any review would be remiss in not mentioning Bill Nershi’s amazing prowess on the guitar, predictable as it may be. Law shines just as brightly as Nershi, with his goofy, engaging stage presence, spot-on mandolin licks and wonderfully rich voice. Two instruments are all that’s needed when they are this well handled. The onstage interaction between the two men is charming and genuine, with their sly smiles and games of follow-my-lead eyebrow tag.

Homeslice thrust an exclamation point at the end of the show with a rollicking cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Factory Girl,” followed sharply by “Big River” of Johnny Cash and Grateful Dead fame. And then it was over. The band stepped off the stage and spent the next half an hour chatting with stragglers and packing their gear. They were flying back to the United States at dawn the next morning but they played like they weren’t quite ready to go home.

JamBase | England
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