Israel Nash – Mercury Lounge, New York, NY 1/22/15 (SHOW REVIEW)

Israel Nash’s 2014 record Rain Plans was one of the best releases of 2014. It’s a kind of electric mash up of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and Neil Young, with gritty, Southern roots. Nash himself, all in black with a tangle of blonde hair and weathered cowboy boots, is a convincing Texas rock star. He brought this subtle coolness and charisma to a recent show at Mercury Lounge in New York City on January 22nd. Along with another guitar player, a pedal steel player, a bassist and a drummer, Nash cast a hippie dippy spell over the small, but full room, and no one wanted to be free from it.

Nash played nearly the entirety of Rain Plans, dipping into 2011’s Barn Doors and Conrete Floors, too. This earlier record, he told us, was recorded in a big barn in upstate New York, with the doors flung wide open. If that doesn’t convince you this man is a true carefree spirit, then just listen to the flowing, steady Rain Plans.

After a set from Wild Leaves, a big, harmony-heavy band decked out in more vintage than you could imagine, Nash and his band took the stage, and as time went by, his listeners became more and more enthralled. Kicking off nearly every song with heady guitar jamming, it’s easy to get lost in his music. And with a band as good as his, the sound envelops you completely, particularly when all five guys join in on harmonies as they do on many songs.

Opening with the dark, country ballad “Through the Door”, Nash immediately broke out his larger than life rasp, belting out the repeating lines of the chorus, “Bring your lovin’ through the door,” a simple, but powerful sentiment made even more epic by the maze of guitar playing that accompanied it.

There’s a 1970s vibe to Nash’s sound, and his passion for shredding his guitar contributes to that. He gives himself over unselfconsciously to his music and pushes his audience to go there with him wholeheartedly. Songs like the ethereal “Rain Plans”, and the magnificent “Woman at the Well” had everyone swaying to the psychedelic force of Nash’s guitar and harmonies.

The crowd got particularly pumped up when Nash announced that was working on a new record, and that he’d be playing some protest songs, about “sticking it to the man” and “making everyone’s lives better.” One song, about gun violence, specifically resonated with listeners. “Sooner or later/We will surrender the guns/But not until we’ve shot everyone,” he wailed, effectively hammering this home.

Getting to rock out with your best friends, as Nash lovingly referred to his band mates, must be pretty kickass. And this particular show found them back where they’d met and started out. Now that they’ve migrated south, we’re lucky to be able to welcome them back to New York City with open arms. And if these first few shows of 2015 are a taste of what’s to come this year for Nash, well then we’re all in for a treat.

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