The Viper Room W. Hollywood, CA
Contact: [email protected]
Players: Xavier Miller, guitar, vocals; Duke, bass; Danny Palmer, drums
Material: Xavier Miller is “Good ol’ Rock & Roll” music. The tunes are a little rough, but they are straightforward, sometimes in-your-face ,and sometimes subtle and elusive. Most are hard driving, like the fan favorite, “Home,” and “Love Ain’t Nothin’.” Xavier cannot be pinned down to “sound” like anyone. He is unique, has a style all his own. Although “3 Days Gone” has an AC/DC-ish intro that caught the audience’s attention, the rest of his repertoire is inimitable.
Musicianship: The musicianship is extremely good. Duke comes from a long history of playing with some well-known acts, including Rose Royce, (and had a hand in writing the big hit “Car Wash”), B.B. King and now, Xavier Miller. His bass playing added another level to the already rich lineup, which he kindly showed off on “Watch it Go Pop” and “Love Ain’t Nothin’.” Palmer is another big hitter who joined Duke in Rose Royce and has played with many well-known acts.
Performance: Miller was on fire, feeding off the crowd’s frenzy. He was dancing and grooving to all the tunes, regardless of the situation. There were some technical difficulties on the first tune, but he waved it off and moved forward, and that set the pace for the rest of the evening. Duke was on point from the get-go, as well as Palmer, and together they put out a respectable show.
Summary: Xavier Miller is a solid musical act who still has a few tricks up his sleeve. He pulled out a solid guitar solo on “There I Was” that might have blistered his fretboard. Good solid rock & roll all around with some radio-worthy tunes waiting to be heard, like the pretty “Rain” and the ballad “Little Darling.” Animated, unique and with very good vocals, Miller has it going on.
