Buffalo Traffic Jam Proves Its Popularity at The Underground
Montana folk band performs for locked-in, sold-out crowd
It’s interesting how a cover song can impact a set. At The Underground on Tuesday, for example, singer/songwriter Ava Hall’s performance of Tyler Childers’ “Whitehouse Road” undoubtedly won over new fans and served as one of her set’s highlights.
For headliner Buffalo Traffic Jam, however, their cover of The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” felt more like a hurdle for the crowd to get past.
That’s not to say it was a bad performance by any means, it’s just that the crowd had been deep in the pocket for the Bozeman-based folk act, singing along to just about every song Buffalo Traffic Jam had performed. Their sold-out show was evidence of the band’s meteoric rise in the music soundscape, and while the cover was well done, it just felt out of place.
Buffalo Traffic Jam has won over crowds with the raspy vocals of frontman Frankie Cassidy and band cofounder Nathan Ross, belting out catchy choruses in a style similar to Ohio folk band Caamp.
Instead of providing a powerful cover of “Rising Sun,” Buffalo Traffic Jam stripped the song down vocally to fit the band’s style. Solid but unnecessary.
From the first words of “Strangers Now” through to the two-song encore of “Fool’s Gold” and “Rescue Me,” fans in the packed Music Factory venue knew just about every song the band performed — aside from the new ones.
It was an impressive showing considering the band has only released one EP and a handful of singles from their upcoming debut album, Pictures of You, due out on July 31.
The band’s music has become a mainstay on SiriusXM and that’s sure to continue as its popularity continues to grow. At this rate, they’ll easily be performing at larger venues by this time next year.
BTJ will now hit coast-mountain-coast with stops in Isle of Palms, Beech Mountain and Wilmington before heading west to pick the tour back up in August after the album drops.
Buffalo Traffic Jam setlist
Strangers Now
Comfort In Misery
Can’t Let Go
Pictures of You
Bones
Broken Love
Forgot Your Roots
Hanging on Hope
Too Young to Die
(Unknown)
Take Me Home
House of the Rising Sun
Milestone
Older
I Don’t Care
Encore
Fool’s Gold
Rescue Me
Be sure to check out Queen City Nerve’s Soundwave, Charlotte’s most comprehensive live music listing, so you don’t miss out on any shows or concerts coming up. And hell, if you’re looking for something else to do, you can check out our events page as well, which runs the gamut of things to do in Charlotte. You don’t ever have to be bored again. You can check out more of Jeff’s pics and live reviews here.
