Former Champions
Saturday, May 19 at The Otter House (Fredricksburg, VA)
Finally, a band I had been seeking for many months arrived in my backyard. My numerous attempts to get to Cary Street Cafe to see these RVA legends in the making had routinely gone unfulfilled. But no worries. The Former Champions landed in Fredericksburg last Saturday night at the Otter House. To say the least, I was pretty darn excited.
Former Champions
Saturday, May 19 at The Otter House (Fredricksburg, VA)
Finally, a band I had been seeking for many months arrived in my backyard. My numerous attempts to get to Cary Street Cafe to see these RVA legends in the making had routinely gone unfulfilled. But no worries. The Former Champions landed in Fredericksburg last Saturday night at the Otter House. To say the least, I was pretty darn excited. I discovered The Former Champions some months back while listening to my favorite podcast. The Endless Boundaries (EB) podcast presents a spectacular array of jambandified music weekly by Jason Varga (aka Jaybird). He routinely mixes it up, venturing out from the standards. I distinctly remember the first time I heard The Former Champions. While mowing the grass, zoning out to volumed music to drown out the engine, Jaybird introduced a new band he’d been tracking. I was thrilled when he said this band was blowin’ up AND they were from Richmond. Well, game on. Even better, they placed well (#8) in the EB 2012 Studio Album of the Year countdown. This is nothing to take lightly. They beat out jamband standards like Lotus, Disco Biscuits, and Tea Leaf Green. Well done.
Before the show, I had the pleasure of meeting the band, including Matt Walton, guitar and vocals. As I went to introduce myself, I noticed he had a bandaged hand. Apparently, this was the tail end of a broken hand endured for 20 shows. And, yep, he didn’t skip a bit. Okay, double respect earned. Once again, the closet musician in me was in awe. Let’s just say this: they bring it… prodigiously. They make it look all too easy and fluid (good musicians just have this knack). Once they started, they rarely surfaced for air. Intertwined jams, mixed tempos, and numerous style changes continually filled the room. This is where the jamband genre shines, and The Former Champions are no exception to this rule. Their ears and musical talents are obvious. Sure, having a good ear is important. But, coupled with an understanding and execution of music theory, well, the results are spectacular. As the varied jams ensued, I quickly noticed their keen abilities with the various diatonic modes. Sure, I have a predilection for this genre and study it obsessively. But with these groovy tempos, dance licks, thick bass, and electro dueling of the keys, you don’t need a degree or an obsession to get what The Former Champions delivered. As jamband fans are fond of stating, they melted our faces.
The Former Champions filled their two sets with hits from their first album, a couple delectable covers (such as Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”), as well as debuting new tunes from their upcoming second album. Just as in the live showings, the new album will certainly showcase how this band has developed even more so over the past two years. All the touring, festivals, and hard work have elevated them to even greater levels. And the touring will continue. They are playing Camp Barefoot again this year as well as my favorite festival, FloydFest. The Former Champions will also be playing Brown’s Island next month on June 8th, opening for the well known ALO. They’re well worth checking out, discovering, revisiting, following, or just flat out supporting.
Thank you Otter House. We hope these types of shows will become a trend. It’s very important that we not only support this venue in drawing in our style of music, but that we continue to support the live music scene and embrace the talent and dedication that it takes to even be a band in the first place. And to Matt, Ben, David, Geoff… well done my friends. Your vibe is fantastic. Thanks for coming to the ‘Burg, and thanks for sharing that crazy good FC groove.
