NCcoverband Reviews ROCK CENTRAL | 6-29-24 Village Square Tap House Clemmons, NC Song selection: 7/10 Band energy: 8/10 Musicianship: 8.5/10 Vocals: 8/10 Sound: 9/10 NCCBR was honored to review the first ever show of Rock Central, who were briefly called The Real Goodsong Band. They opened the show with an unusual choice--Billy Joel’s “Miami 2017 (Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway).” It’s a good song that plays to the band's strengths. However, it seemed too obscure to grab the attention of all but the biggest Billy Joel fans right out of the gate. Nonetheless, the first set rolled on with Foo Fighters and superb versions of “Superstitious” and “Roadhouse Blues.” and the crowd was definitely into it. Rock Central showed creativity with a slowed-down version of Journey’s “Separate Ways” which was unique but perhaps a bit too long. We thought they might bring it back to a rockin' tempo around the second chorus or so, but we give the band credit for putting their own spin on things throughout the night. Rounding out the first set were tunes from Skynyrd, Zeppelin and a great version of "Drift Away" that included excellent background vocals from keyboardist Tony DiBianca who doubles as the band's sound guy. The set was played awfully well and was fun, entertaining and included good amounts of band interaction and showmanship. The second set opened with a cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight.” As we've written here before, we always find this a bit of a letdown. It was played very well but as a second set opener it fails to regain the audience’s attention and energy coming out of the break. The set continued other slower tunes until Joe Cocker's “Feelin’ Alright” and Gin Blossoms' “Hey Jealousy” raised some heart rates. The energy was dialed up even more with outstanding versions of “Johnny B. Goode” (with a smokin’ guitar solo from Cole Young), “Born To Be Wild” (which an NCCBR staffer proclaimed “best rock song of all time”) and a very cool version of The Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See” that the band played double-time on the last verse and outro. Rounding out this band of excellent musicians are Greg Savoie on drums, Jeff Isley on bass and Alan Butscher on lead vocals. Jeff and Greg form an excellent rhythm section and have been band mates for years, and it shows. Alan sounded very good while interacting with the crowd all night. Cole is a very skilled guitarist, and we thought that his solos were perfect -- not too short and not too long-- and raised the showmanship and energy level of every song that featured one. Like most bands' first show, this one has a few hiccups. But they were few and far between and weren’t glaring. We're confident that they'll be smoothed out quickly. Rock Central’s debut performance should certainly be viewed as a huge success and their future looks very bright. We can't wait to see how their set list shapes up in the coming months. Don’t miss them! 🤘