Unexpectedly Good night of Music

Post & Courier - SC, July 2004

Finally, it was time for the band that had originally been booked to hit the stage. Monticello Road hopped onstage and immediately all but cleared the room. It wasn't that the band was bad; quite the contrary. But after two fierce sets of adrenaline-laced rock music, it didn't help that Monticello Road kicked off with a cover of Widespread Panic's "Ain't Life Grand." I'm personally a fan of that particular WSP album, so I stuck around and watched.

During the second song of the set, I was honestly feeling sorry for the guys in Monticello Road. The band features Jason Marshall (bass), Kyle Rannigan (vocals, guitar), Josh Manzano (drums), Adam Silvers (vocals, keys), and Vaden Cox (vocals, lead guitar). The audience had dwindled to about 10 people. The rest of the patrons had retired to Johnny Ola's adjoining bar. I was ready to chalk it up to a bad case of mismatched bands, when something pretty cool happened. The band kicked into a bluegrass number that got the 10 of us left tapping our feet unconsciously.

At that point Littlejohn, Hudak and Tucker returned from the bar and began to dance around in front of the stage. The three Ex-Lovers in turn acted as pied pipers, leading their fans back into the performance space, where a serious dance floor began to form. For the rest of Monticello Road's set (which turned out to be quite good) a crowd of about 50 folks danced the night away. Tucker got so into the groove that he had to pour a cup of ice water over himself in front of the stage, a move that Littlejohn found hilarious.

The evening reached a crescendo when Monticello Road busted out a spirited version of the Who's "Baba O'Riley," which really seemed to impress the Ex-Lovers' members. Eventually, management had to flip on the lights and ask folks to leave before the 2 a.m. curfew. It was one of the most unexpectedly good evenings of music I have witnessed in awhile, especially considering that I was originally headed home to pizza and a movie. Kudos to the Specs, the Ex-Lovers, Monticello Road and the folks at Johnny Ola's for a fun night of rock."