Review: “Let’s F*cking Go – Live from the Tralf” by Johnny Hart and the Mess

There is little that compares to a live concert. The jostling of ticket holders packing the venue, the roar of the crowd as the band first takes the stage, and the sheer communal energy of it all make for an adrenaline rush like no other. When the COVID-19 pandemic effectively shut down the entire music industry earlier this year, it took that energy with it. For local rock ’n’ roll favorite Johnny Hart and the Mess, the future was suddenly wide open.

“At that point, it was kind of like a mind game to everybody,” says Johnny Hart, lead singer of the group. “Nobody really knew what to expect or what we could do or if anything would even land.” 

The band had been in the midst of their usual busy schedule. While all four members work day jobs, the lack of gigs put a creative and financial hold on most of their projects, including a new album they had intended on working on during the spring. Although they tried their hand at a few remote streaming endeavors, something was still unavoidably absent: the audience.

“I think 50% of the show is the people there,” says Hart. “To not have that — and not be able to get reactions out of people — is just a weird thing to do … You’re pulled away from being a musician and singer and a storyteller.”

So, Johnny Hart and the Mess took a new approach. They brought the show directly to us and released a 28-track live album, “Let’s F*cking Go – Live from the Tralf.” Mixed by their longtime engineer Fred Betschen, it features six cover songs and was recorded during two separate gigs at the Tralf Music Hall, one in 2017 and one in 2019. 

“It was pretty cool because we got to look back on some things that we hadn’t done in, like, two years,” says guitarist Tyler Wright. “Like, ‘Caught in a French Cafe’ was a song that was abandoned from the first album and didn’t make it on the second one, either.” 

“Seeing the artist perform their music is electric and totally different from listening to an album,” says bassist Nick Myers, who notes that the band hopes to have given fans a small taste of that electric feeling, even if they can’t experience it in person right now. So far, the feedback from fans has been heartening.

“I’ve had people that have never heard the band before, and they heard the live record and were like, ‘Woah! That’s a wall of sound,’” says Wright. “How many local bands get to put out a live album? You don’t get to see many local bands last for one album, let alone a live album.” 

Beyond being just plain fun, the record comes at a time when most fans are facing unparalleled uncertainty, not only in their musical lives but in their personal ones, as well. Hart recalls one man who shared his appreciation with them:

“He came up to me, and he said, ‘You know, I just wanted to thank you guys. I knew you guys were a band but I didn’t really know you or your music or videos … I was in kind of a dark place at one point. and those videos gave me some hope … and then you guys put out that live record and I listen to it all the time now.’” 

Though the shutdown forced the band to rethink their plans, it’s also allowed them to grow and expand in ways they might not otherwise have done.

“I think we learned a lot,” says drummer James Kooken. “I bought a lot of equipment; I basically have a whole studio set up in my basement now.” 

While they’ve stuck with strictly streaming services for this live album, the band plans to continue rolling with the punches, and they’ve booked their first live show since the beginning of the year at The Cave on November 6. 

“In an odd way, I think the Buffalo music community is tighter than ever right now, and I think once we get out of this, we really gotta maintain that closeness and keep supporting each other the way we have through this,” says Hart. “Because it’s not a competition. There’s a ton of great, incredible music out there, and there’s a ton of great, incredible people that want to hear the music.” 

You can hear “Let’s F*cking Go – Live from the Tralf” across streaming platforms now.