Recording: Gentleman Reg

Artist: Gentleman Reg

Songs: Make It Better + If It Makes You Happy [Sheryl Crow cover]

Recorded at The Gladstone Hotel (Ballroom), December 2, 2012.

Gentleman Reg - Make It Better

Gentleman Reg - If It Makes You Happy

Full review to follow. Gentleman Reg's new Leisure Life album has a carefully-constructed sense of atmosphere, professional but not overly slick. The live version, featuring a band with a new rhythm section, is a rawer, dig-the-teeth-in sort of beast, zoning into the songs with a peppy, rockin' ferocity, which is entirely a good thing. And when the foot comes off the accelerator, the band can also register a powerful punch in the tender moments, like this Sheryl Crow cover, which I believe has been slowed down even more since Reg and Kelly McMichael have started singing it — all the better to let things simmer along. Now that the new album is formally "out there", you should make it a point to get out and see Gentleman Reg play.