June 17, 2017: Two Ways Home – Buck N Bull at Vauxhall Arches
On a balmy evening in Vauxhall, something very strange happened. A uniformed army streamed through a railway arch and then disappeared. This was no secret military exercise, though. In fact, the uniform was country finery – brand new checked shirts, cowboy hats and boots.
These troops weren’t hopelessly lost on the way to Tennessee. Vauxhall Arches’ courtyard had been transformed into a rodeo wonderland, complete with Southern cocktails and a mechanical bucking bull. The early summer heatwave set the scene perfectly.
Inside the darkened labyrinth, there was a packed line dancing workshop with the boisterous energy of a hen party. Yet deeper into the rabbit warren were familiar faces providing the evening’s live entertainment. Credit must go to Two Ways Home for perseverance. That’s because the lighting was hyperactive, the sound was muffled, and the crowd were largely hankering for a night of country covers. Alas for them, Two Ways Home play original songs and don’t sing about the modern stock-in-trade tropes of cowboy hats, beer, and blue jeans. Still, with impressive guitar work, vocals that would have stood out in a better mix, and undimmable enthusiasm, they gained new fans. Highlights included Just For Now and Time Lasts Forever.
Ultimately, a special Two Ways Home Buck N Bull rendition of Hunter Hayes’ I Want Crazy appeased the crowd’s clamous for covers. Just long enough until the club night started, anyway! As soon as the final notes of the live set rang out, the crowd rushed into the next cavern. They were more than ready, willing, and able to dance the night away to current and classic country tunes spun by DJ Baylen Leonard.
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