Concert Review: Vintage Trouble Whips Madrid, Makes Me A Fan
James Brown is alive and he lives in Ty Taylor, the frontman of blues-rock band Vintage Trouble. Thanks to their manager Charles and tour manager David, I got the chance to attend Vintage Trouble’s sold-out show in Madrid, Spain at Sala El Sol on Thursday, July 24. I entered the venue as a mere spectator, and I left being a fan.
Validating my name with the security guard at the Sala’s door, I walked down the circular staircase and placed myself at first row before the knee-high stage at the small, soon-to-be packed venue. And packed it got! Lucky me I was the first to enter the Sala. After a few minutes, almost 400 people crowded the venue. The average age was of about 30-35 years old. I heard no English there, only Spanish people speaking Spanish. I found myself fascinated by the fact that so many people were fans and had heard of Vintage Trouble in Spain. Vintage Trouble certainly isn’t the type of band that you’d hear on Top 40 radios here. I wish I had made a quick survey asking people how they discovered Vintage Trouble. Word of mouth, maybe? Too much YouTubing?
Whatever the case, it was almost 10 p.m, and it was evident the show was about to commence. Vintage Trouble's crew did not stop walking around the stage checking everything was perfect and in place. 10 p.m sharp, lights went down, and Vintage Trouble's Ty Taylor, Nalle Colt, Rick Barrio and Dill Richard Danielson walked on stage. Wild screaming and applauses welcomed the LA-based band. Ty Tyler didn’t start the concert with a “Hola”, but immediately commanded the band to get the concert going. Opening song, “High Times (They Are Coming)”, was a high-energy number where Ty Tyler began showing off his out-of-this-world vocals (very James Brown in a way, but with Ty Tyler’s own identity) and love for whipping his fans (not intentionally though!). He uses a microphone with a very long cord, and uses that cord as a sort of whip! I had never seen something like that. From time to time, he'd perform ‘whip’ spectacles, the kind I had only seen in artistic gymnastics competitions.
A few show-stopping performances and guitar riffs into the concert, Ty Tyler addressed the Madrid audience before moving into the next song. He talked about knowing how hot the venue would get once the concert was on, asking fans to not leave the place until they were dripping wet (after dancing and singing to all Vintage Trouble tunes that is), and told us the story of how their parents met. Ty thought the story was the perfect introduction to the next song, the mid-tempo "Nancy Lee".
But 'The Ty Tyler Experience’ wasn’t quite over. What about walking off stage, going up to the second floor area in the venue, performing one of your songs and making the crowd sing along from there? Or, walking off stage, mix into the crowd, and order them to ‘everybody down to the ground!’? I was left both speechless, and very entertained.
The last song of the concert was “Get It”, and Vintage Trouble made it memorable. Plenty of crowd interaction, band playing at their best, Ty Tyler dancing like the world would end tomorrow, and one last James Brown-esque, long and loud cry. Concert over. As promised in an earlier word exchange with the crowd, the whole Vintage Trouble band did a quick thank you bow, walked down the stage, and hit the corner bar to get some drinks and chat with the fans! Again, a first timer for me. We could chat, hug, take pictures, and have our merchandise and CD's signed by the entire Vintage Trouble. They are so down to the earth, friendly, and caring for their fans! I won’t be able to get the image of Vintage Trouble's Madrid concert off my head in a long time. Man, they left a mark on me! Will I see them live again? I just have to!