Currently in the middle of a North American tour, British singer-songwriter Bobby Long is happily riding a wave of success stemming from the release of his highly anticipated debut record, A Winter Tale. The album, which dropped February 1st courtesy of ATO Records, has been showered with praise by fans and critics alike. Long also made his network television debut on February 3rd when he appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Later that night, after the taping, Long delighted a packed house at the Troubadour with a short but sweet set of his excellent music.
The stage setup was simple, allowing Long's powerful presence to reign down on the audience. Shaggy brown hair hung in his eyes as he opened with the touching song "Two Years Old". The endearing artist immediately captivated the crowd with his husky, soulful singing voice, but the females in the audience swooned even harder at his anecdotes between songs marked by his distinct British accent. He spoke about how much fun they had taping the Leno show and how excited they were to meet the other show guests. "Jeff Bridges is definitely The Dude," Long assured us.
Long continued his set with the ominously serene "Who Have You Been Loving". The humble musician kept his head bowed most of the night; but the few times when he lifted it just long enough to brush the hair out of his eyes, allow us to catch his gaze, and see him smile, hearts melted all around me. Whether they yelled out to the stage, "I love you Bobby!" or simply whispered to a friend, "I want to marry that guy," every female in the venue was talking about the adorable Long.
Gracious and gentle, Long seemed both excited and a bit nervous to be playing to such a large, loving crowd. He dedicated a song to his family, and then broke out a harmonica for the followup tune, "A Passing Tale". Sounding like a brilliant mash-up of Kings of Leon frontman Caleb Followill and Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons, Long truly shined acoustically when his band exited the stage and left him up there alone. He dedicated "Sick Man Blues" to Jeff Bridges, then played another catchy tune off the new album entitled "For You My Love". As his band returned to the stage, Long shared a tale from his youth with us. "There was a girl in my class called Mary Jane and everyone loved her," Long said. "Everyone still loves Mary Jane." He then proceeded to play a grand version of "The Bounty of Mary Jane", a dark and intense song.
Long then jumped back and played an older song. "Being a Mockingbird" had a folky, twangy vibe which was made complete with the slide guitar. Before playing the next song, crowd favorite "Penance Fire Blues", Long revealed that it was the single they had played earlier on Leno. The audience was completely immersed in the music and were tapping their feet and swaying along to the upbeat, western tune. The energy level remained high during "A Winter Tale", during which the band engaged in a jazzy, bluesy jam session.
Shortly thereafter, Long and his crew left the stage, but the musician promptly returned for an encore. It was just him for the first song "Dead and Done" but the audience sang along to fill out the sound. Then the full band reemerged and played a new tune that had a funky, electric feel. The entire room rocked out at the end of the song and disappointment filled the room as Long and his band exited the stage, this time for good. I see big things in this young man's future and if you take some time to listen to his music, I think you'll agree.
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