Live: Vintage Trouble @ Jergel’s
Vintage Trouble is kind of a perfect name for a rock band whose style pulls from a mix of rhythm and blues, soul, and a throwback to good, old-fashioned rock — appropriate, too, for a band who’s opened for some of the biggest names in rock.
Their Dec. 1 show at Jergel’s just outside of Pittsburgh kicked off with fellow rockers Hollis Brown, a New York band who won the crowd over easily with their 45-minute set.
Vintage Trouble entertained the crowd for over an hour, starting with “Total Strangers” and including other Bomb Shelter Session highlights, like the smooth and sexy “Nancy Lee,” and the fun and raunchy “Pelvis Pusher.” The set also featured tracks from the band’s Chapter II EPs, including “Everyone Is Everyone” as a way of marking the anniversary of Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her bus seat for a white man.
The band delivered a high-energy, exciting performance, particularly from charismatic frontman Ty Taylor, who worked the crowd expertly from dancing with fans on the floor to climbing on top of the venue’s bar to spending a song running through the venue as he sang, taking advantage of its setup as a bar and restaurant by going from one end to the other, top to bottom, engaging with enthusiastic fans the whole way.
Rather than exit the stage and return for an encore, Vintage Trouble opted to power through the full set in one go so as to spend time with fans, so they ended with the rollicking “Blues Hand Me Down,” a near-perfect choice.
Vintage Trouble may have started their career and built a fanbase opening for some iconic rock bands, but they more than hold their own as a headliner. Their shows only serve to enhance their music, with all the energy and attitude rock ’n’ roll is about.
