Review + Photos | Nikki Lane, Clear Plastic Masks, & Frankie Lee @ Sinclair
If you were lucky enough to be at the Sinclair on Sunday November 1st you were treated to some of the finest boot stomping, country western sounds we New Englanders have come to appreciate these past few years. The show at the Sinclair did not disappoint as Nashville’s very own Nikki Lane rolled into town with her band of talented bandits to bring us an evening of bona fide Tennessee twang.
Ms. Lane has been on a steady conquest of hearts and minds across the land for what seems like a quite a while, but in all actuality started with the release of her debut album, Walk of Shame, back in 2011. In the past 4 years her tour schedule has been pretty much non-stop.
The current run of shows is based around her latest release, All or Nothin’, and is her first headlining tour for the album. The crown inside the Sinclair was a mix of old and new fans all equally excited to sing along with the First Lady of Outlaw Country, as she has been appropriately deemed.
The set was mix of tracks from her two albums, but as this was a showcase for her current release, mostly consisted of numbers from All or Nothin’, which of course pleased the crowd to no end. Nikki Lane has been kind enough to head back to Boston time and time again, and it is such a pleasure to see this talented musician’s fan-base grow with each return.
Highlights of the night included the audience shout-out request for “Come Away Joe,” off of Walk of Shame. A song that Lane had to double-check everyone in the band remembered how to play, before pretty much nailing it. “Man Up,” from All or Nothin’ was a rowdy sing-along complete with the finest double flip-off to an ex you have ever seen on stage. The cover of Buddy Lee’s fantastic song “Gasoline and Matches” had everyone shouting along, and the Nikki Lane special a.k.a “Right Time” saw a mass hysteria amongst the crowd. It is a fantastic song after all.
Opening the evening were Nashville band Clear Plastic Masks and Minneapolis singer-songwriter Frankie Lee. Clear Plastic Masks set was pretty stellar and consisted of songs off their fantastic 2014 release Being There. If there were ever a more engaging front-man than Andrew Katz I have yet to see him! Frankie Lee kicked it all off with a amazing set filled with songs from his current release Where Do We Belong. I love when opening bands are great, and both openers exceeded expectations.
One last thing to mention. An audience member took off her bra and threw it on stage during Nikki Lane’s set. According to Lane this was her first bra toss on stage and I am happy to say that I caught it with my camera for all to see.
Check out the images I took of the evening below and be sure to catch Nikki Lane, Clear Plastic Masks, and Frankie Lee when they are in your town.