Opening for G Love & Special Sauce in Charlotte the other week was The Bones Of J.R. Jones (Jonathon Linaberry). Similar to The Low Volts (Who supported Brian Setzer last December), Linaberry is a one man band that brings an interesting version of swamp blues.
If you forced me to give you a contemporary band that he sounded like, I would more than likely say the defunct The Civil Wars - especially their song "Barton Hallows".
As always with opening acts, you never know what you're going to get if you've never heard of them. You trust in the headliner/headliner's management to pick a strong opener to make it a great night.
I must say, in this case it worked out well. Linaberry played with a lot of soul and captured the audience's attention rather quickly when he pulled out his slide and worked the resonator guitar. (You could tell that the crowd liked him because he was busy at his merch table after his show!)
He moved through a number of tunes that varied in style within that folk/swamp/blues genre alternating between the acoustic guitar, banjo, and resonator. When he needed to pump up the energy a bit, he added a little kick drum and hi-hat to drive the songs.
Above all, he was a great opening act. He did his job well. He warmed the crowd up so that G Love could come in and knock it out of the park - and you can't ask for anything more from an opener.
If you're into the slide/swamp thing and The Bones Of J.R. Jones is in your neck of the woods - it's worth checking him out.
Here's some photos from his set for you to enjoy. Again, The Visulite Theatre doesn't have a barrier between the stage and the crowd so I was stuck in one spot which explains why the photos are all at the same angle!!
Cheers!!
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