These guys (and gal) hadn't played a gig for weeks when I caught them in NoDa on a recent Saturday. You'd never have guessed it.

"the most exciting thing I’ve heard in a very long time."

(from the band's tour with Alejandro Escovedo) 

Of course it was hardly surprising that Escovedo put on a show for the ages. However, opening act, Roman Candle, was more than a treat. The Chapel Hill via Nashville quintet played an exciting, passionate set, where each song seemed equally influenced by Gram Parsons as The Replacements as Talking Heads.

Skip Matheny’s lyrics swing from serious and sad, to clever and witty without ever seeming disingenuous; thus disarming the crowd and leaving them at the mercy of the band’s whim. Matheny is incredibly charismatic frontman, and has great rapport with the audience. We danced in the palm of his hand for the duration of their forty-five minute set – a rare feat for an opening act. Roman Candle is definitely a band that is on the rise, and after seeing them play last night – that’s the most exciting thing I’ve heard in a very long time. 

A video of roman candle playing WHY MODERN RADIO IS A-OK was recently featured on NME.com. The video was taken at wnrn in Charlottesville VA while the band was on the road in 2009.

"Please, Roman Candle, come back."

When Skip Matheny of opening act Roman Candle sang, "Some people say I've got a country tongue," it's easy to understand why. But the Chapel Hill, N.C., band's country isn't so much the alt-country of Wilco as the country forays of the "Angie"-era Rolling Stones - a big, wide sound played with an exuberant abandon.