(Green Bay, WI) – Shots of whiskey with the front row, singing a duet with your visiting Mother, inviting fans on stage for an impromptu sing along – just another Saturday night for Nikki Lane.
Her music may be branded country, but it’s not the “country” pumped out by the big Nashville hit machine that’s dominated the airwaves for longer than I care to remember. With its echoes of Waylon Jennings, Dusty Springfield and early 60’s Phil Spector Lane’s sophomore release All or Nothin’ (New West Records) is a hybrid of classic country twang and slinky 70’s pop with an unapologetic garage rock edginess. Co-written and produced by The Black Keys‘ Dan Auerbach, the 12 song collection has many labeling Lane the new “First Lady of Outlaw Country”.
Fresh off a summer tour opening for So Cal punk heroes Social Distortion and picking up a whole new fan base in the process, Lane continues to criss cross the U.S. playing any place that will have her.
The roughly 100 people tightly packed in front of the small stage at The Lyric Room were treated to a intimate hour and a half of songs filled with heartache, mischief and reckless abandon. Lane’s breathy vocals add a sexy swagger and validity to lyrics like “If you’re looking for trouble, Honey I can show you how, My favorite time is right now”, in the foot stomping Right Time (To Do The Wrong Thing). Just as quickly, that bravado turns to longing in the laid back mid tempo groove of the stand out ballad You Can’t Talk To Me Like That.
Lane’s singing and playing are direct and exude a confidence and ease as she sings “ I ain’t looking for love, just a little danger “ in the straightforward good girl gone bad ode to a one night stand Sleep With A Stranger.
Continuing on with several more cuts: All Or Nothin’, Wild One, Want My Heart Back, Good Man as well as select songs from her 2011 debut Walk Of Shame and a strutting cover of Buddy Miller’s Gasoline and Matches Lane had the room wrapped around her little finger by nights end.
The highlight of the evening for me was the rarely played duet Love’s On Fire, which has become my personal favorite from the current release. When Lane off handily remarked “ whataya wanna hear?” it was overwhelmingly the loudest request. With a bit of a laugh, Lane shot back “Ya’ll do know that’s a duet right?”, luckily bassist Eric Whitman stepped up and to give it a whirl, to the enthusiastic crowds delight.
As 2015 comes to an end Lane is wrapping up her headlining tour this month just after the holiday,s before setting sale on the Outlaw Country Cruise in early February. Though it was released in 2014 All Or Nothin’ has become on of my favorite albums of 2015 and I’m looking forward to what she’ll do next. Head over to www.nikkilane.com for music, videos, info and tour dates.
All photos by Dave Burke.
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