By: David Schultz

Leroy Justice is a rock and roll band. There was a time when that was all that needed to be said. Were this 1973, Leroy Justice would be heralded within the pages of Rolling Stone and The Loho Sessions, their superb recently released sophomore effort, would provide ample fodder for free form AOR rock radio. Unfortunately, Jann Wenner’s mag seems too preoccupied with Britney Spears, The Jonas Brothers and the sexual politics of Adam Lambert to care about the American rock and roll scene and true rock and roll has long vanished from the terrestrial airwaves with satellite radio programmers now acting as the guardians of the gate. Despite feeling forsaken, true rock and roll still exists. It may not be as prevalent as it once was in the collective mindset but it has yet to be driven back underground.

On their sparkling debut, Revolution’s Son, Leroy Justice served notice that they could be the wild-eyed menacing stranger that kicks in the door of the saloon and demands to be reckoned with. On The Loho Sessions, the New York based fivesome shows that behind the feral façade, there is a wickedly keen intelligence and to be the gunslinger that underestimates the savviness within is to risk dire consequences. Finding the intersection of Exile-era Rolling Stones, the Allman Brothers Fillmore odysseys and the Let It Be Beatles, The Loho Sessions documents the band’s evolution from barroom blues rockers into a mighty rock and roll band. Getting past the distracting similarity between the opener “All My Life” and Billy Joel’s “The Stranger,” Jason Gallagher’s confident vocals, Sloan Marshall’s timeless organ riffs and Brendan Cavanaugh’s Skydog- quality slide guitar burrow into the recesses of the rock and roll soul and evoke an instinctive yet familiar response that fine classic rock can generate, only without the nagging tug of nostalgia. It’s a glorious revelation to know that bands still make this type of music.

At their recent “raveup” for The Loho Sessions’ release at New York City’s Mercury Lounge, Leroy Justice hit the majority of the album’s multitude of high spots, more than holding their own on a bill with Backyard Tire Fire and the Hill Country Revue. On many numbers, like “Steel Girl,” “So High” and “Temporary Cure,” which floats on an absolutely fantastic Cavanaugh slide-guitar riff, Justice wound their way through to masterful denouements, bringing the instrumentals into the forefront with gratifying skill. The slight twang that occupies Gallagher’s vocals gave the proper desolate feel to the easy acoustics of “Bathroom Wall,” an aching, southern-rock style ballad and invested “Mickey,” his character study of an aging veteran, with the right amount of empathy. With “Out Of Sea” marching to the same cadences set on their early album, Justice slowed down their version of their debut album’s title track to a deliberate and strident beat. Tapping into the vein of the classic rock era, their closing cover of “Whipping Post,” couldn’t have been a more natural or befitting end to the set.

For those who worry if the rock and roll they grew up on had entered its death throes: fear not, you shall be served well by Leroy Justice.

OTHER THAN WATCHING A COUPLE sets on the AT & T Webcast, I came nowhere near Bonnaroo this weekend. However, the Hidden Track folk and the Jambands.com crew made their way down there and have compiled their own reports and the best of others. The festival is too big to offer true comprehensive coverage but between HT and Jambands.com, you'll not only get a good sense as to what transpired in Manchester, TN but probably more news and opinions on Phish's participation than you ever thought could exist.

Labels: Leroy Justice