Shakey Graves delivered an intimate set of tunes at Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay
Shakey Graves is the performance name of Austin, Texas native Alejandro Rose-Garcia. Originally starting as a stripped back solo act with Garcia performing as a one man band now has evolved into a full band effort. In April of 2021, Shakey Graves released “Roll the Bones X”; an expanded and celebratory re-issue of the album “Roll the Bones” which turned ten years old this past January.
Before Shakey Graves, Nashville’s Sierra Ferrell and her band took the stage to send us back into the golden age of country. Farrell’s sound and focus on lyrical narration transported my ears back to a time when artists like Marty Robbins, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash were in their prime. Ferrell’s minimal setup allowed for her to showcase her incredibly strong vocals as it soared above the mandolin / bass / acoustic guitar / viola accompaniments.
After about twenty minutes or so, Garcia came out along with a large band to perform the song Look Alive. The first half of the set consisted of this full band setup featuring electric guitar, keys, bass and drums. The songs included Family and Genus, Pansy Waltz and Dearly Departed from 2014’s “And the War Came” as well as Excuses from 2018’s “Can’t Wake Up.” They finished the first half of the set by playfully covering David Bowie’s Starman.
The second half of the set saw the band leave the stage to Garcia as he performed 8 songs with his signature acoustic guitar, kick drum, hi hat, one man band setup. It is here that he would perform many songs off of “Roll the Bones” and “Roll the Bones X.” Songs like Word of Mouth, Dusty Lion, Unlucky Skin and the fan favorite Roll the Bones which featured a hi hat malfunction which Garcia used to his advantage, seizing the opportunity to crack jokes and play around with the audience.
You can catch Shakey Graves with Sierra Ferrell in the Pacific Northwest a few times in October before touring the rest of the country so don’t miss out!
