Review: Zac Brown Band
Photos and Review by McLane Brown
April 13, 2019
Stellar performances from the Zac Brown Band and Moon Taxi this past Saturday night in Raleigh. Though I’d seen some skepticism on Facebook about Moon Taxi as an opener, they made a strong connection to the audience through covers of “Another Brick in the Wall” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” along with their original music. I was impressed with their ability to transform the environment, something that can be a bit difficult before the sun sets without the support of stage lighting and visuals. But the presence they were able to convey and shape throughout the set went a long way to engaging the crowd.
With just their one opening act, the Zac Brown Band had plenty of time to play with for their set, throwing in a ton of covers, some drumline inspired cadences with interrupting cowbell, and a broad range of their music from older songs that surprised at least a couple people near me, to “God Given,” a song on their new album that’s in the works. “The Devil went Down to Georgia” had a sinister feel with all red light painting the band while violinist Jimmy de Martini shredded the solos, while when they set up the whole band acoustic on one of the runways to play James Taylor and Simon and Garfunkel, you could imagine them playing from across a campfire. The performance as a whole fit the title of their tour, as from the start of the set it felt like you were going Down the Rabbit Hole with them on a journey through the music, influences, and goals of the band, bringing you into the family.
Stellar performances from the Zac Brown Band and Moon Taxi this past Saturday night in Raleigh. Though I’d seen some skepticism on Facebook about Moon Taxi as an opener, they made a strong connection to the audience through covers of “Another Brick in the Wall” and “Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” along with their original music. I was impressed with their ability to transform the environment, something that can be a bit difficult before the sun sets without the support of stage lighting and visuals. But the presence they were able to convey and shape throughout the set went a long way to engaging the crowd.
With just their one opening act, the Zac Brown Band had plenty of time to play with for their set, throwing in a ton of covers, some drumline inspired cadences with interrupting cowbell, and a broad range of their music from older songs that surprised at least a couple people near me, to “God Given,” a song on their new album that’s in the works. “The Devil went Down to Georgia” had a sinister feel with all red light painting the band while violinist Jimmy de Martini shredded the solos, while when they set up the whole band acoustic on one of the runways to play James Taylor and Simon and Garfunkel, you could imagine them playing from across a campfire. The performance as a whole fit the title of their tour, as from the start of the set it felt like you were going Down the Rabbit Hole with them on a journey through the music, influences, and goals of the band, bringing you into the family.
