Wednesday night might be thought of as a quiet night for many people, but not for the ones rocking out to The Fruit Bats at the square room venue in downtown Knoxville. Getting close to the closing leg of the tour, and in between shows in Nashville and Chapel Hill, The Fruit Bats moved the house with their American folk rock sound, bringing in a slew of talent and mature sound to appease the fans. Lead singer/songwriter Eric Johnson stated, “Knoxville was definitely one of my favorite shows that have been played on the Tour.” Hopefully this could mean a return appearance by the Seattle-based group, and an increase in the overall music scene from around the spectrum if all of the bands playing in the area are this pleased.

The show was extremely lively, filled with build-ups and guitar solos throughout, as well as a few of the more quiet moments in the show. Eric Johnson had a great live voice, as well as the background vocals of Sam Wagster whom plays the slide and lead guitar, and Ron Lewis who backs up the band on keys. The harmonies throughout the show and guitar riffs brought up some hints of Band of Horses, so after the show I asked the group what they thought it. “We have been told in the past that we sound like Band of Horses, and are also friends with them.” So it is no coincidence that the group has similar sounds, also due to the fact that both bands influences come from older country rock singers such as Neil Young.

Another noticeable point of the show was the grooving that took place behind the scenes with drummer Graeme Gibson and bassist Chris Sherman. The drumming was impeccable, with great fills and a nice blend with the music, and the same goes to say with the bass. It was obvious that the band had been playing together for years, since 1999, because they had every song and transition down to the second.

Fruit Bats also seemed to be a curious name, so I asked Eric Johnson after the show how the name originated, “I made it up as a joke a long time ago to put it on a 4 track sample, and the name just stuck, so we have kept it ever since.” The band just recently released a studio album titled The Ruminant Band and if it is half as good as the songs from it which were played live, then I would highly recommend going out and grabbing a copy. This show was my first at the square room, and definitely will not be my last, and hopefully we will be seeing the The Fruit Bats around here again soon.

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