I can't seem to catch a full
Leslie show in Raleigh. Last time they were at Slim's in Raleigh I had to leave early. This time I got there late, but the Charleston, SC three-piece still put on a hell of a show.
Leslie has to be one of the most intense bands on the scene right now. They play every song like it's the last they'll ever play. Singer/guitarist Sadler Vaden's stage presence combines Pete Townshend windmills, knee drops and walking off the stage at random getting right in audience members' faces.
During the last half of the set Thursday night, the band played "Back Door," "You're A Liar," "Guns Loaded," and "You Can't Take My Silver." One song that really got the crowd excited was a cover of Willie Dixon's "You Shook Me." During the song, one audience member said "for some reason I feel like drinking whiskey right now." It was a spot on version of the song that would have made Willie and Zeppelin proud.
The band hadn't planned to play an encore, but came back to play one more song for the crowd even though Sadler had a broken guitar string and drummer Jonathan Carmen had a broken kick drum pedal. Towards the end of the song, Sadler and bassist Jason Fox simultaneously walked off stage and continued to play in the crowd. Jason even hopped up on a bar stool and managed to maintain his balance to play for about thirty seconds. It was a sight to see.
The band left no one in the crowd unimpressed Thursday night. Leslie will definitely be a band to watch in the next year. Leslie's next North Carolina show is in Jacksonville on Oct. 24 at Hooligan's Music Hall with 12 Stones and Adema. Don't worry, they don't sound like either of those bands. They play old school rock 'n' roll that you need to check out.
