Nick Johnson Band

Material: Nick Johnson presents clever and fun originals with a few covers thrown in. The material is entertaining and uplifting, guaranteed to get anyone in a good mood even on a sour day. Johnson’s song “Hollywood” pokes fun at actors and actresses, with phrases such as “perfect silicon” and “I know I’m crazy I’ve been doing this for years.” Inspirational themes are teamed with disclaimers to despair such as “I won’t cry at the Hollywood sign, it’s not worth my tears.”Musicianship: Tight instrumentation and pleasant sounding backup vocals support Nick Johnson’s strong clear voice. Laurent Apffel fuses a laptop computer with keyboards to incorporate a high-tech sound similar to the Postal Service. This creates a rock style that often has a Latin beat mixed in.Performance: Johnson smiled and had contagious energy. It was obvious that he and his crew enjoyed playing and had fun doing it. Johnson excited the audience with an excellent rendition of David Bowie’s song “Fame.” Johnson also cleverly pulled in the crowd when he wore a pink feather boa during songs such as the opening to “Better Boys.”Nick Johnson and his band seem to be following their own advice, which Johnson advocated during the set, “Be true to yourself and you will never fall, baby.”Summary: The Nick Johnson group have strong potential and are a solid candidate for booking as a party or dance band. With their musical talent, supplemented by their ability to entertain and interact with an audience, Johnson and company are fun to watch and guaranteed to pleasure almost any listener.—Laura Phillips, Music Connection Magazine.