Photo by Kevin Kenly

Rocking the Top Hat in Missoula, Montana on Wednesday, January 30th, White Denim played to a smaller crowd of 150 plus people, but like their sixth and newest record they are touring to promote, Corsicana Lemonade, they did not fail to impress. Originally from Texas, the four-piece band came with sounds that range from Classic Rock to Blues, Jazz, Funk and probably more, all while jamming to a modern eclectic sound, usually with a moderately fast tempo.

Running a little behind schedule due to the intense snow storms that the northwest was getting, band members, James Petralli (lead singer, guitarist and front man), Josh Block (drums), Steve Terebecki (vocals and bass) and Austin Jenkins (guitar) all walked in the back door of the newly renovated downtown night club smiling. A local band, Skin Flowers, was already warming up the crowd.

Elegantly, White Denim opened up their show with “Anvil Everything” from their previous album, D. Then, they followed it up with the fan favorite, “I Start To Run,” before diving into almost half of their newest album. Shuffling it up a bit and right into the bluesy riffs, Petralli belted it out in “Come Back,” but then quickly transitioned back to the more mellow jam, “Distant Relative Salute.” After cooling it down they brought it right back up to a rocking “Pretty Green,” and then back down to, “A Place To Start” and “Limited By Stature.”

Continuing to mix it up, White Denim followed up the Corsicana Lemonade set with the blues/rock influenced, “Cheer Up:Blues Ending,” and then jammed out to “It’s Him” and “Keys” before hyping the crowd up with the their punk rock-styled song, “Shake Shake Shake.” With the audiences’ blood flowing, the band kept it going with the title track off their latest album, “Corsicana Lemonade,” but then continued the roller coaster of energy with “River To Consider” and “I’d Have It Just The Way We Were.”

This was all rounded off with another great track, “At Night In Dreams,” from the new album and an extra long jammed out version of “Drug.” For an encore, they did their “At The Farm/ Say What You Want” blend, which really almost perfectly shows off the style, energy, charisma, and multi-genre fusion that they have been honing over the years.

Currently White Denim shows are selling out in California, and their tour is mostly ahead of them, pulling a corkscrew across the country. Their tour that started in Montana, is going from west to east, then up north, around the Great Lakes, and back down the middle of the country to their home in Texas, before flying across the big pond to Europe, where they first found their fame. With so much ground they are covering, there should be a show nearby for almost everyone to see them. Also, with the latest album reported as, “sold out,” on their Facebook page, their concert might be the only place to pick up a copy. Both CD and vinyl were available for purchase.

Overall, the show was a wild ride. White Denim definitely knows how to get a crowd moving with style. Their performance was tight, the duel microphones Petralli was using to make his echo effects were interesting, and they even had matching guitars too. You could tell that this band is a finely tuned machine. The audience danced, cheered, and clapped for every song, and even though people were drinking, not many hung out by the bar for very long, their attention stayed on the band.