Live Review: Davey Craddock & The Spectacles

The warm, intimate vibe of The Odd Fellow was the perfect place for Davey Craddock & The Spectacles’ Better Alone single launch before the band headed back to the east coast.

Peter Barr started the night off with an eclectic mix of songs to get everybody in the mood, including music from The Hollies, Supergrass and a double hit of Kenny Rogers.

As Mr Roger’s Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town finished playing, Odette Mercy & Her Soul Atomics started the live component of the evening with a slow, stirring rendition of Mama before launching into the upbeat funk sounds of The Soul Atomics Theme. Wait In Vain, Baby and Heartbrakee followed, with great jazz-inspired solos from both saxophonist Alistair McEvoy and trumpeter Ricki Malet, before the band capped off their set with an extended jam on Box Me In.

Barr returned to the decks to play some great tracks courtesy of Talking Heads, The Replacements and America before Davey Craddock & The Spectacles arrived to a warm response from the audience. Craddock and drummer Todd Picket sang a cappella for the start of Keep On Waiting before the rest of the band kicked in with a rollicking beat that culminated in a big singalong chorus. Rolling River saw guitarist Luke Dux deliver the first of many biting guitar solos and got a big response from the audience by the end.

After 100 Days and the country-inspired Right Brain Holiday, Craddock took a moment to switch to electric guitar for a fantastic performance of There Will Be A Light complete with energetic vocals and great harmonies from Pete Stone. The rockier sound continued for Girls Light Fires and Three Sprays, with the latter featuring a stinging organ solo from Mo Wilson and solid drumming from Todd Pickett.

Before playing Better Alone, Craddock prefaced the song by saying it was meant to be a duet and that “now, it sounds like a schizophrenic song.” This didn’t seem to impact the song’s power as the band delivered a great version of it that built up to an epic ending with sweeping organ work by Wilson and Craddock singing at the top of his register. The band returned for an encore with an acoustic cover of Dave Rawlings’ Ruby, ending the night with a full band cover of Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released.