Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real came to the fashionable John Varvatos Bowery....
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

For rock ‘n’ roll purists, especially the indie sort, ‘fashion’ is a four-letter word, all wrapped up in glitz & glamour & money, “Who are you wearing?” red carpet events, hip-hop $chwag, etc.  So when designer John Varvatos announced that he was moving into the space that once held the legendary rock venue CBGBs, many were up in arms.  However, he has been putting on shows there that were better than anything the long-since-declined tiny space had done in more than a decade, like recent fashion signee Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real on Thursday, September 19th.

Admittedly, it was a fairly fashionable crowd – for the handsome Lukas Nelson.  While he’ll probably always be known best for being the son of the legendary Redheaded Stranger, Willie Nelson, Lukas has been forging his own career fronting his band, Promise of the Real. He still does events with his father, like New Year’s Eve shows in their native Texas (QRO photos), or celebrating Willie’s birthday with many others, Nelson & not, at the Hard Rock Café right in New York (QRO photos) this year, but this was Lukas’ show (though his father was relatively nearby, playing his second of two shows at Capitol Theatre – QRO venue review – just up MetroNorth at Port Chester in Westchester County).  Of course, he did start by singing that he’s in his daddy’s car with a joint in each hand (and at least one person in the crowd snuck a few puffs from Papa Nelson’s favorite herb…)…

Lukas NelsonLukas Nelson played to the crowd he had, mixing in covers of well-known classic artists like Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, and Neil Young, along with his own material such as “Forever Is a Four-Letter Word”.  Yes, it isn’t hard to make “Sympathy For the Devil” sound great, but that didn’t mean that Nelson didn’t give it his all.  And his encore, covering Young’s “Down By the River”, revealed a Young-like quality to his voice.  It also wasn’t an over-packed event where you’re stuck far from the stage, if can see it at all, like the live streamed Cheap Trick performance of Budokan (QRO review).  And yes, you could still get the free drinks (something else the new 315 Bowery has over the vast majority of rock-purist spots…).  It all made for a nice night at John Varvatos Bowery.

photos by Ilya S. Savenok from Getty Images

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real

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