Last night Nelson performed a full electric set highlighting their After the Rain album at Jergels in Warrendale, PA with support from a local act XDB that continues to impress with their selection of originals and cover tunes that few bands would attempt to perform, let alone perform well.
The Nelson band line-up featured guitarists Neil Zaza and J.J. Farris along with drummer David Keith in support of twin brothers Gunnar on vocals and guitar and Matthew on vocals and bass.
In the summer of 2023, Nelson was called upon by their friends from Steelheart to get the band back together and take their place at some planned shows when Miljenko Matijevic was unable to perform. The first of which was at Picktown Palooza at Pickerington High School just outside of Columbus, Ohio where the band took the stage in support of Slaughter and broke attendance records for the event. In fact, when we returned to catch Steelheart there this year, the festival promoter told us that they ran out of wrist bands that evening!
When Nelson talked about getting the band together, we didn’t really get it, because we’d been catching Nelson shows regularly since we first saw them in 1990 at the Syria Mosque in Oakland with House of Lords.
More recently, we’ve seen the brothers perform and recount the career of their late father Ricky Nelson with their “Ricky Nelson Remembered” shows, and we’d also seen them with guest guitarists like Howie Simon on the Monsters of Rock Cruise and at Monsters on the Mountain festival. We even had the opportunity to interview Matthew prior to their last “evening with” performance at Jergel’s back in 2019… So, when they said they were just starting things up again last year, we didn’t really get it. That was, until last night.
When you strip down the songs and tell a story, it’s special, no doubt, but when you put a consistent band together, work out the arrangements, and add a third electric guitar to the mix, what a show! They really took us back to that magical era of the late eighties and early nineties when we watched the twins on dial MTV, and the only thing missing were the keyboards. In fact, the triple axe approach even afforded Gunnar the opportunity to kick off the show as a frontman before slinging on his custom “gunman” strap, which clearly labeled the twin for those who may have forgotten that Matthew is the one playing bass.
As one would expect with the family ties of the brothers, the stories were awe-inspiring, and the melodies were uplifting as always, but what really drew us in were the long jams and heavy-hitting delivery that we typically wouldn’t see at a Nelson show. The set kicked off with “Fill You Up” and “More Than Ever,” and went on to include their #1 hit song “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” from the After the Rain album. The words came rushing back to me as to each and every lyric they’d written as the night went on, as was the case with most of the audience (but it was nice to see newer younger fans in the mix as well).
Diversions from the double-platinum album included a cover of Neil Zaza’s “I’m Alright” which features snippets from the “Star Spangled Banner” and offered a cool instrumental showcase of the band’s talented chops. Some may recognize the Ohio-bred guitarists Neil Zaza (Zaza) and J.J. Farris (Slammin’ Gladys) are both familiar names to us in the ‘Burgh, and of course drummer David Keith is known for his work with the legendary Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow, Blackmore’s Night).
Before saying farewell the brothers introduced a cover of their father’s song “Garden Party,” which has become an expected addition to their own setlist. It actually brought tears to my eyes at the mention of the Ricky Nelson hit “Mary Lou,” because my mother Mary Lou, was a huge fan of their pop and I missed having her there with me for their show.
The music concluded with the title track from “After the Rain,” but the evening was far from over. The brothers made their way to the merch stand and greeted each and every fan for photos and in some cases rather deep conversations as they left the venue.
It’s interesting that they will be scaling things back with Gunnar and Matthew performing an acoustic set this Friday, in support of Lita Ford and Warrant at the MGM Northfield Casino just outside of Cleveland. Schedules didn’t permit them to bring in the local boys for an electric show as Neil Zaza explained that he has a clinic planned out of town. We expect that it will be quite a different vibe, but just as special as last night. I for one, am hoping to seeing those custom made hand-tooled leather guitar covers that pay homage to their father’s 1957 Martin guitar cover on Friday. And who knows what could happen with their former drummer Bobby Rock and their Scrap Metal bandmate Lita Ford in the house!
For those looking to catch Neil in action again, he can be found performing at the Goodyear Theater in Akron on December 21, for his annual “One Silent Night” show with special guests who will include Tim “Ripper” Owens (KK’s Priest) among others.
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Live Photos by Editor and founder Kara Marie Uhrlen for The Pure Rock Shop. Posted on 11/11/2024.
