The Bacon Brothers Band Rocks City Winery

Wonderful musicianship, plenty of charisma and a lengthy and diverse set list ensured that the Bacon Brothers Band’s performance at the City Winery in New York City on Tuesday was a special one. If you’ve never seen the band before, this was a great introduction to their work. If you were a hardcore fan, it was a fun night of stories, nostalgia and top-notch musical performances.

Although the band has six members, it naturally all starts with Kevin and Michael Bacon, the brother duo known for their accomplishments in front of the camera and behind it. While there are plenty of actors who think they can rock, these siblings are far from all hype. Playing the harmonica, cello, ukulele and guitar as well as providing lead vocals, Michael and Kevin are true musicians that unlike the fodder on pop radio today, tell stories. From the emptying of the nest to their wives and children, Michael and Kevin share a piece of themselves on stage that shows.

It also helps that both Bacons individually bring something entirely different to the stage. Michael has a Jimmy Buffet/James Taylor type of voice, perfectly suited for singer/songwriter ballads. An accomplished musician responsible or 0ver 80 scores for film and TV, he’s a pro. On tracks the likes of “Don’t Lose Me Boy” and “Perfect Pitch,” Michael showcases his laid back and earthy voice as well as his ability to craft tales you can connect to. Add in his solid guitar work and versatility on the cello and Michael is a unique talent and the backbone of the band’s sound.

That doesn’t take away from Kevin’s role in the band, though. Dancing on stage like Mick Jagger at times and smiling like a teenager at prom, it’s apparent the younger Bacon is having a blast. This is confirmed by the stories he tells before “Bus” and “Woodstock.” With a voice more suited for rock and soul, the songs Kevin takes the lead on have more edge, but they still possess the signature multi-layered sound the band is known for. At the same time, Kevin has this frontman vibe and magnetism, evident in “Boys in Bars.” His performance and the retro music video that played on the screens next to the stage got a chuckle from the guys and a few screams from the girls. Even in his late ‘50s Kevin Bacon still knows how to excite a crowd.

This show was more about musical polish than flash, though. Throughout the night, the instruments were constantly being exchanged. The keyboard player Joe Mennonna later played some dynamite saxophone and nearly stole the show. The background vocals and bass playing from Paul Guzzone, who has been with the Bacon’s since their first gig, was also solid. Not many bassists can sing as well as Guzzone and smile while doing it, but Guzzone, who got the crowd going on several occasions, did just that. The same goes for the lead guitarist and mandolin player Ira Siegel, who was simply amazing, channeling the rock gods one moment to playing psychedelic riffs (Lava Lamp) the next. Drummer Frank Vilardi tied everything together, not missing a beat on the dynamic set list.

In an era of popular music being all about fluff and flash, The Bacon Brothers’ set on Tuesday at City Winery was more than enough to give you your “real” music fix. A near-perfect blend of Rock, Americana and Folk, the Bacon Brothers Band delivered.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14260 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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