Toney Rocks sings the blues at the Pearl Theater

Toney Rocks put on a well-received solo performance at the Pearl on Saturday, Oct. 22. Rocks brought a heaping helping of blues and soul to the venue, playing two sets that lasted from 7 p.m. until around 9 p.m. The songwriter also proved that he doesn’t need a cameraman or a rythym guitarist, since a GoPro camera and a loop pedal allowed him to wear all those hats at once.

The Las Vegas-based artist with southern roots is currently touring the country in support of his latest album, No Road Too Long. He played a number of songs off the new album, including the title track, which focuses on a love so strong that no distance can undermine.

The first set was made up of other love songs mostly, including “In Your Love” and “Sorry Rose”, which is about a Tinder relationship gone arye. (Tinder, Rocks explained to the crowd, is a popular smartphone dating app.) Although a few of the love songs went past sentimental and drifted into the realm of cliche, they were all thoughtfully composed and were held together by Rocks powerful, soulful voice.

Rocks sat down at the piano to play a few numbers, and even picked up a ukelele at one point, but he stuck with the acoustic guitar for the majority of both sets. It was the loop pedal, however, that truly allowed him to let loose as an instrumentalist. Rocks would lay down a chord progression, record it with the pedal and start looping it, creating a rhythmic base for him to solo ontop of. These one-man guitar harmonies confused folks in the audience at first, but they caught on soon enough.

Rocks’ second set felt more energetic as he brought more of his blues persona into the spotlight. In “Blackwater”, which featured a greasy guitar riff underneath gravelly vocals that would have made Howlin’ Wolf’s ears perk up, Rocks sang in true bluesman’s fashion about “swimmin’ with them evil things.”

The native Virginian played a number of other original blues tunes and a few more original love ballads during the second set, but nothing stood out quite like his captivating cover of “Papa Was a Rolling Stone”.

That song, which was made famous by the Tempations in the early 70’s, has a memorable opening line, one that the audience seemed to recognize almost immediately: “It was the third of September, that day I’ll always remember...yes I will.” It wasn’t until the chorus, however, that people in the crowd recognized just how much fun Rocks was having onstage.

He really found his groove on the loop pedal during an instrumental breakdown midway through the song. The breakdown featured three layers of guitar harmonies that, eerily enough, synced perfectly with a passing train as it rattled along the tracks across the street from the Pearl. Rocks couldn’t have picked a better sound effect to compliment a song about a deadbeat, rambling, no-good transient.

The Pearl is a relatively new venue in downtown Bonners Ferry. From local open mic nights to critically acclaimed visiting acts, the church-turned-theater welcomes all genres of music and all types of musicians to the stage. For more information and to see a calendar of upcoming shows, visit the Pearl’s website at: www.thepearltheater.org