St. Paul & The Broken Bones performed to a delighted crowd in Washington, DC Tuesday night, a stop on the Angels in Science Fiction tour.
The Birmingham, Alabama-based soul band (Paul Janeway, Browan Lollar, Jesse Phillips, Kevin Leon, Allen Branstetter, Amari Ansari, and Chad Fisher), wasted no time getting into the groove when they took the stage, jamming until bandleader/vocalist Janeway strutted into the spotlight, crowd cheering. They kicked off their set with “Flow with It (You Got Me Feeling Like),” from their 2016 release, Sea of Noise.
The band’s latest album is Angels in Science Fiction, a work largely inspired by fatherhood, specifically, the experience of Janeway becoming a new father to a baby girl. Before performing “Lonely Love Song,” accompanied only by a guitar, Janeway talked about the feelings he had about impending parenthood and how they moved him to write that song. It was one of only three songs (out of an 18 song setlist) from the new album.
The rest of the night’s selections were pulled from across the band’s expanding discography, with the most coming from 2014’s Half the City, which nearly ten years later, remains a fan favorite, judging by the DC crowd. A highlight of the night isn’t a St Paul & the Broken Bones song at all, but a cover of Jeff Buckley’s “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over.”
The night at times felt like a church service, the crowd singing and waving their hands in the air. While Janeway is the leader, the rest of the band gets their time in the spotlight, when the vocalist removes himself from the stage and several of the band members get their shot at solos. It’s delightful to see such talented musicians show off a little. On stage, Janeway made sure to spread some love to DC itself, mentioning that it is where he met and fell in love with his wife.
His statements about Washington, DC reminded me of the first time I saw the band, back in 2014, at DC’s now defunct Rock and Roll Hotel. The large band was squashed onto the club’s tiny stage, but they made the most of it, and Janeway’s charisma was on display even then. At the time I thought it was one of the best shows I’d ever seen in my life. It’s been great seeing the band grow and evolve in the years since.
Supporting St. Paul and the Broken Bones on the Angels in Science Fiction tour is Y La Bamba. Y La Bamba is led by singer/guitarist Luz Elena Mendoza, a first-generation Mexican American who sings in both English and Spanish. During the band’s half hour or so set, the still-settling-in crowd got a sampling of Y La Bamba’s inventive, dream pop sounds. The band’s latest album is Lucha, and they’ve garnered wide praise from the likes of Rolling Stone and The New York Times.
The Angels in Science Fiction Tour wraps up in mid-December, in Miami, Florida.
Y LA BAMBA
St Paul and the Broken Bones Setlist
Opening Marvin Jam
Flow With It (You Got Me Feeling Like)
Call Me
Waves
Half the City
Grass is Greener
Roach Clip Instrumental
City Federal Building
Lonely Love Song
Lover, You Should’ve Come Over
Wolf in Rabbit Clothes
Beatus
GotItBad
Apollo
Like a Mighty River
Sanctify
The Last Dance
Broken Bones & Pocket Change
