In Missoula, the Wood Brothers and St. Paul & Broken Bones

William Munoz

(Missoula Current) When a band combines folk, blues and roots music (gospel and jazz), you get the brothers Chris and Oliver Wood. Then add multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix and The Wood Brothers create music that is both technically exact and emotionally compelling.

It is not easy as a trio to sound like a full band, but Chris’ bass playing seamlessly blends a strong rhythm with a melodic phrasing and is a perfect compliment to his brother Olivers’ guitar playing.

Rix on drums holds the two bothers playing together while allowing each to be the ‘main’ instrument. A Wood Brothers song sounds like a rhythmic solo of guitar and bass that take turns being the other part.

They are Americana at its best and on a co-headlining tour with St Paul & The Broken Bones, they stopped at the banks of the Blackfoot River to play at the Kettlehouse Amphitheater.

As The wood Brothers set finished, St Paul & The Broken Bones started their set with ‘Flow With It (You Got Me Feeling Like)’ after a bands’ jam. Paul Janeway’s distinctive alto vocals bring the message that tonight we are into some high energy R&B that is a signature of this band that formed in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2012 when Janeway and bassist Jesse Phillips got together.

Phillips now lives in Missoula making the local music scene vibrant. The brass section of the sound is evident through all the songs, driving the soulful feeling that gets everyone moving in the ‘church’ of St Paul &The Broken Bones. Rhythm and blues at its’ best.