Kora (Kora Puckett) opened the night for Jawdropped on a Friday night at Zebulon. He introduced the start of the set by saying, "Check the hands on the clock. It is 8:05, it is time to rock." He then proceeded to blast back open the Zebulon stage doors that had just closed. That did not literally happen, but it could have in an alternate universe where music has physical force.
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| Kora at Zebulon |
The seven member band that included 4 guitarists (including Puckett) performed a 9 song set that was like fine wine. As each song progressed through their Americana rhythms, the music's layered beauty grew. It all started with his opening song "Far as I Can Tell" that has a most intriguing opening sound. It reminded me so much of local singer Gold Star. Better well known examples of similar sounding bands and singers comes from the official press release, "But you don’t need to listen real close at all to hear influences like Sheryl Crow, Paul Westerberg, Tom Petty, or The Lemonheads."
To me, the song has two interpretations. There's the struggle to write the lyrics to a song (I write it down else I forget) and also dealing with relationship difficulties ("You might've tasted like heaven. But girl you put me through hell.").
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| Kora at Zebulon |
During a break in the music while his band was dealing with transitioning from keys to mandolin (a mandolin!) and a guitar strap that came undone, Puckett spoke to the audience, "It's feeling good up here. How is it feeling out there? Just rocking with some of my best friends up here." He is generally a man of few words as he explained later in the set while tuning his guitar, "I don't like to talk between songs. I like the music part." There was a lot of tuning during songs due to the use of a capo, which led to lengthy moments of silence but it just built the anticipation for the next amazing song.
His song "Wait All Week" got loud approval from the crowd. The music has a sweeping sound that is as wide as the open range with a lone cowboy on his horse.
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| Kora at Zebulon |
Of his nine song set, only three of the songs are currently released. If I were asked for my suggestion for his fourth released song, I'd say that the country driven song "Angel of Death" that concluded the set should be up next. The song started with the 7 member band turning up the volume on a thunderous opening. The music volume was turned down as Puckett sang with a Southern drawl, allowing all to focus on the lyrics. Yet, throughout the song the music is allowed to soar high with Western adrenaline. The crowd cheered loudly with appreciation.
Puckett is a multi-genre musician. He is also a member of the grunge punk band Narrow Head. I noticed that I could have crossed paths with him in early 2024 when he played Genghis Cohen with one of my favorite bands Janelane.
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| Kora at Zebulon |
Setlist: Far as I Can Tell, Now I'm High, Lost, Wait All Week, Forever or Just Then, Veins, Coming Down, Rocker, Angel of Death.
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