Dustin Kensrue made a name for himself fronting the post-hardcore band Thrice, but if that side of the artist is all you know of him, then you would have been in for quite a shock at his solo show last Saturday at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles. Supporting his latest album Desert Dreaming, Kensrue was in full country-western mode, complete with cowboy hat and bolo tie, and brought some excellent, multitalented support with him for the concert.
Opening the show was Nashville’s Brother Bird, out promoting their great new album Another Year. While soft spoken when speaking to the audience, front woman Caroline showcased a far more dynamic range in song. The group’s songs could vacillate between “sad girl” folk, with hints of Mazzy Star and Lana Del Rey, to bolder, heavier indie rock that could inspire head banging. On record, songs like the airy “state of mind” utilize wispy harmonies akin to groups like Lucius; in a live setting, Caroline let her drummer and guitarist shine and back up her songs with extra pomp. I could definitely see Brother Bird continuing in a more pop rock direction, entering the space artists like Maggie Rogers have built in mainstream music scene. And with tracks like “Something Better”, which was an easy crowd pleaser, Brother Bird definitely has the songs to get bigger and bigger.
Next up were The Brevet, and Orange County-based four piece who I was unfamiliar with prior to the show, and the band seemed fully prepared to win over audience members hearing them for the first time. And win over they did. These guys could definitely blow up. Their songs, built off catchy, sing-along pop rock with plenty of “whoas”, “Oohs” and “da da das”, have a sound that is 100% in the zeitgeist right now, and they put on the kind of live show that everyone can enjoy. Songs like “Wherever We Go” and “Matter of Time” (which the band got the audience singing along to jubilantly) boasted the kind of big, memorable choruses that helped The Lumineers get huge and have made new bands like the Red Clay Strays become TikTok royalty. I wasn’t surprised when the band’s frontman revealed that one of their new tracks was co-written with Rob Thomas (of Matchbox Twenty fame), since that group always knew how to pack their songs with hooks.
The band’s secret weapon was clearly their lead guitarist, who not only could play that instrument like a beast, but also conquered the electric banjo, and at one point turned his guitar on its side and transformed it into a slide guitar (an instrument he would later show his deep familiarity with as the band backed Kensrue). But no guitar trickery can cover for lackluster songwriting, so the group thankfully has plenty of good songs in their bag. A contingent of the audience were clearly there for the group, requesting the track “Paris” en force, and making heart shapes with their hands for the group. The band closed with the hard rocking “Locked & Loaded”, showing they were more than another Americana-leaning band. But as I hinted at earlier, the band’s work for the night was hardly done.
When curtains opened for Dustin Kensrue, The Brevet were still there, backing up the singer for his set after having just finished their set. Kudos on the stamina guys! Kensrue began the night with one of his more rock-based solo tracks, “Back to Back” from 2015’s Carry the Fire. While this album contains a few rockers that Kensrue would touch on during the night, it was clear he was focused on conjuring the old school, country-western influences that his latest album is steeped in. Songs like “Death Valley Honeymoon”, his duet with Cat Clyde, are pure classic country, and with help from Brother Bird‘s Caroline, he brought it to life in the room. The more lively “High Scalers” brought out a rollicking energy, with Kensrue smiling as he and The Brevet shared some perfect onstage chemistry.
A cute moment was Kensrue talking about how his first introduction to good country music was from Roger Miller‘s songs from Disney’s Robin Hood animated film, and then proceeded to cover “Not in Nottingham” from that classic film. He then went into the beautiful “Treasure in the West” and haunting “There’s Something Dark”. Of course, there’s always “that guy” in the audience loudly shouting out requests, and this night had a very determined fan wanting to hear Thrice‘s “Deadbolt”. Kensrue took the almost-heckling in good stride and humor, stating clearly he would not be playing that song, or any other requests that weren’t already on the setlist. And with a grin, he then said anyone still requesting the song following this statement was an asshole. The audience laughed along with this, even if the “Deadbolt” requester still found his noisy shouting to be amusing. Kensrue told the crowd to get all of their requests out of their system so he could keep going with the show. Which they did.
While Thrice definitely has a big following, it was clear from the amount of people in the filled room singing along that Kensrue’s solo work has garnered a loyal, dedicated following. I can thankfully say I’ve been listening to his solo work since 2007’s Please Come Home, and my biggest disappointment from the night was that he didn’t play the title track from that record, which still is an emotional gut punch whenever I listen to it. He did dig-up “Blood & Wine” and the heavy, moody “Blanket of Ghosts” from that record, the latter of which sounded wonderful live. My other favorite moment of the night was hearing new track “The Heart of Sedona”, which shows off the kind of narrative songwriting Kensrue does so well and leans more folk-rock/Americana than most of his new record.
Yes, that’s my dark secret: I’m not a big country-western fan. While I can appreciate the classics and the songwriting, it’s a sound that I’m not in lock-step with. And though much of Kensrue’s new record is more traditional in that sound, his other influences manage to seep in and make tracks like that one speak to me.
While he released an entire live record of covers back in 2016, Kensrue chose a different cover to begin his non-encore; “Closer” by The Chainsmokers. Definitely not one I would have expected, but his transformation of that track into a countrified pop rock bop worked. Finally, he leaf the audience “Desert Dreaming” with the new record’s title track, with a promise that he intended to go between Thrice records and solo records more consistently from now on, so they could expect him back on the road sooner than later.
Here’s hoping! Until then, you can listen to Dustin Kensrue‘s Desert Dreaming here!
The Indy Review 