Country Music People, October 2000
Robert Reynolds and Paul Deakin toured with Kevin Montgomery as the Roadtrippers between 2000 and 2004.
Roadtrippers band members varied depending on other commitments.
Live Review:
Kevin Montgomery, Robert Reynolds, Paul Deakin
The Boardwalk, Sheffield, England, August 31, 2000
The Roadtrippers at the Boardwalk, Sheffield, England, August 31, 2000.
Jeff Finlin, Paul Deakin, Robert Reynolds. Kevin Montgomery out of shot..
Having been impressed with Kevin Montgomery at the Summer Nights festival, I caught up with him again in Sheffield. With his usual partner Doug Pettibone on a sabbatical, he was fortunate to have bassist Robert Reynolds and drummer Paul Deakin of the Mavericks as his sidemen, together with noted guitarist Pat Buchanan.
Kicking in with the title track of his current album, Another Long Story, Montgomery and the band were instantly into their stride, performing material from that debut set that included the insistent Let's All Go To California and an emotive Angel Tonight, both of which were co-written by Montgomery with Jeff Finlin who had earlier turned in a promising opening set of his own.
Although the majority of the songs were Montgomery compositions, two outside numbers were received very well indeed: Bruce Springsteen's I Wish I Were Blind, and Wishing, jointly penned by Bob Montgomery, Kevin's father, and Buddy Holly. The harmony vocals of Buchanan and Reynolds blended particularly well on this old Holly classic.
The support from Reynolds, Deakin and Buchanan played a major role in making this a memorable evening. Raunchy when the song demanded it, soulful when this was called for, they were tight throughout.
At the end of the set, when the audience called for an encore, Robert Reynolds let rip with a belting Cajun Song before driving into the equally rhythmic American Girl, which, in turn, became a boisterous Not Fade Away.
The Roadtrippers at the Star & Garter, Manchester, England, September 6, 2000.
Pat Buchanan, Paul Deakin (hidden), Robert Reynolds [belting out American Girl], Kevin Montgomery, Jeff Finlin
* * * * *
The Roadtrippers at the Star & Garter, Manchester, England, September 6, 2000.
Pat Buchanan, Paul Deakin, Robert Reynolds, Kevin Montgomery Jeff Finlin
* * * * *Kevin Montgomery took over the reins once more to close a hugely entertaining night with Fear Nothing. He's planning to return next year with Doug Pettibone, when he expects to perform an acoustic set, something I shall certainly look forward to.
Al Moir
Country Music People
October 2000
The tour dates and poster can be found here.
Although the two lower photos are from a different venue (Manchester, September 6, 2000), there is no review for the other venue so the photos have been slotted in here.
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