The Mint Los Angeles, CA
Contact: [email protected]
Players: Danny Kortchmar, guitar, vocals; Waddy Wachtel, guitar, vocals; Leland Sklar, bass, vocals; Russ Kunkel, drums; Steve Postell, guitar, vocals
Material: The Immediate Family is a big melting pot of past influences and inspirations culminating in a unique style that’s very well their own. You can hear hints of Eric Clapton, The Allman Brothers, Three Dog Night, Jackson Browne and Bachman-Turner Overdrive all ooze out of the Immediate Family’s music as they played one great song after another. It’s rock & roll, but then it’s Southern rock, and country, and pop, and blues, with a lot of soul, sweat and energy emanating from every pore in every band member.
Musicianship: The musicianship is top-shelf quality as this group of seriously seasoned musicians took the stage. The music was confident and poised from the very first note that erupted at the intro of “Lawyer;” a down-on-your-luck tune that had such a great groove, you knew everything would work out just fine. Wachtel’s solo on the guitar was the icing on the cake as the band came together as a whole to round out the song and end it in superb fashion.
Performance: Wachtel, Kortchmar and Postell all deliver outstanding vocals as each took turns crooning to the crowd and having them eat out of their hands. They played to every audience whim they could think of and, in turn, the audience gave them the esteem and reverence that they so rightfully deserved. That being said, the night belonged to the rhythm section. Kunkel and Sklar were the impetus that kept-the-train-a-rollin’. They grooved every song so perfectly it gave the front men the chance to make every song a stand-out tune.
Summary: Great grooves drove each song to its fullest potential. The Immediate Family mixed their originals with a few, finely tuned covers that drove the audience bananas; and to the dancefloor. Rocked out versions of “Somebody’s Baby,” “New York Minute” and Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” had everyone singing at the top of their lungs and swinging those hips like there was no tomorrow. That didn’t stop the band from belting out their own tunes. “Too many Irons” and their take on the Sparks tune “Toughest Girl in Town” had the whole band singing great harmonies to the audience’s content. The Immediate Family is a must-see in person, but in the meantime check out their latest effort, titled Skin in the Game, out in early 2023 and available at all your usual outlets.
