Live music coming back full force and my relatively recent move to a much more live music-centric part of the country could not have come together at a better time. In an effort to avoid any FOMO, I find myself going to see as many things as I can – I don’t want to miss a single one of my favorite bands, especially not when they’re playing shows closer to me than ever before. When a friend of mine that I actually met through our mutual love of Greta Van Fleet on their Strange Horizons tour asked me if I wanted to come to her city and see Larkin Poe, I couldn’t say no. It was my first time seeing them live, and I couldn’t have asked for a better first Larkin Poe experience.
The venue was incredible, a historic theater in Broad Ripple called The Vogue that has hosted the likes of Bo Diddley, Willie Nelson, and Johnny Cash, just to name a few. While I immediately gravitated to the floor for this show, I don’t think there was a bad seat in the house. The sound quality in this room was phenomenal, making an already virtually flawless band sound even better. I was surrounded by sound, energy, and lights, fully immersing me in the show. It was a fantastic place to see a show – I’ll definitely be back.
A last-minute but very welcome addition to the lineup was Tyler Bryant – the original opener had a conflict and couldn’t make it, so singer/guitarist Rebecca Lovell invited her husband to fill the role. Not only did he absolutely rock the house, he did it alone, just him, a guitar, and all the funky stuff in the floor he used to be his own percussionist. He was the perfect opening act – I fell in love with his sound and couldn’t wait to give him and his band The Shakedown a more thorough listen after his set was over. He covered all the bases, giving us hard-hitting rock and mellow ballads, and keeping us on our feet through every note. He was also incredibly kind – my friends and I met him after the show while buying his record and he couldn’t possibly have been nicer to us. That kind of thing sticks with me just as much as the sound of the music – friendly artists always win me over!
Being a few rows back on the floor, it’s always fun to watch the crowd ahead and around you react to the show. Before the show even started, I could see the excitement pouring out of the people on the barricade – it looked like this wasn’t their first rodeo, and rightfully so, because Larkin Poe put on a show worth coming back for again and again.
I am fully convinced that Rebecca Lovell is a siren – her voice is smooth, enchanting, and intoxicating. Her vocals will render you speechless – she sounds every bit as good live as she does on the record. It’s unreal. And it would be one thing if her vocals were the only thing that’s incredible, but the skill she has on her guitar and of course the phenomenal harmonies and slide work from Megan Lovell tie the whole thing together into one of the most exhilarating, albeit laidback, live shows I’ve seen to date.
I was quite pleased with the setlist, they played so many of my favorite songs, though I find myself struggling a bit to write this review because of that setlist; everything they played was a highlight! I can’t emphasize enough to you how fantastic Larkin Poe is live – they deliver a sound equal to if not better than the record in all the best ways. I often think the true test of how good a band really is measured in their live shows, and Larkin Poe passes with flying colors.
Larkin Poe bring roots and blues music to the masses in the most tasteful of ways, and their ending of the show with a Robert Johnson number truly solidified my belief in that. Their cover of “Come on in My Kitchen” has been one of my favorites of their covers for a long time, and watching them perform it (with Tyler Bryant joining them!) made it so evident just how much they care about preserving roots music. Robert Johnson died in 1938, yet Larkin Poe performs his songs today, in 2021. They’ve got a passion for the music that came before them, the music that inspired all of the artists we know and love, and that passion exuded out of that performance.
I already loved them, but after seeing this show, that love has grown tenfold. There’s something to be said for an incredibly talented and passionate band that delivers studio-quality sounds live, and Larkin Poe checked every box. Go check them out the next time they come to city near you – they’re beyond worth it.
