We Went There: Florry at 7th St. Entry
The vibes were good in the 7th St. Entry on June 13th for two bands pushing the edge of nu-country to fill the historic venue with twangy telecaster and lap steel vibes that 10 years ago would have been the territory of an older and more reactionary crowd, but brought in a joyous, younger and blissfully more welcoming crowd to explore a music that for too long had been highjacked. Can you have a show with multiple harmonica holders and it not feel like the audio version of mothballs? Yes, yes you can.
Florry showed up as a seven piece that tapped into the rich veins of Americana but pull out something that is new, fresh and, in the live setting especially, the kind of boozy rock and roll that breaths life into a venue. There was the previously mentioned telecasters (sometimes four guitars at once!) and lap steels, but also acoustic guitars, violin and harmonica solos. Band leader Francie Medosch has the kind of kinetic energy that elevates the ceiling for live shows, and the joyful chaos of the show revolved much of the night around Medosch’s joy, stumbles and passionate singing.
The band mentioned they had been hitting it a little hard (see below) and that caused some technical glitches, but that only added to the charm. Playing songs from their great new LP ..Sounds Like with a smattering of tracks from their debut LP The Holey Bible, other projects and even some covers. It was a set that seemed to bring immense joy to the diehards, charmed the in-between and I’m guessing won over some converts who were enticed by a Friday night show. I love this new wave of country-fried bands who sound like they blended together Lucinda Williams, Crazy Horse and early 2000s indie rock, and Florry are proving one of the leading lights of the movement.
Opening the night was Lily Seabird, a group that like the headliners mined various aspects of country rock, albeit with a few more noisy breakdowns (and included a few overlapping members). The lead singer had some real Kim Gordon vibes, especially when the band took stabs at more angular rock behind her. But it wasn’t all noise, with some dusty road country mixed in and even a piano ballad that sounded a little bit like “Rosalita.” Maybe the best part of the set? Much of the Florry crew in the front row rocking out. Good vibes, indeed.
Writer / co-founder
