The Currys’ Christmas Tour 2024
The Currys rolled into Gainesville’s Heartwood Soundstage for their annual Christmas tour in front of a packed house; this has been a must-see show in town for the past decade. The Virginia-based family trio features intricate harmonies, a collection of great original songs, and entertaining humor. This year they’ve released a ten-song Christmas album featuring some traditional songs and four original (and occasionally hilariously twisted) Christmas songs.
Brothers Tommy and Jimmy and cousin Galen are all songwriters, and all share lead singing duties. I happen to be a big fan of tight harmonies, and that’s one thing you’re going to get. Going from duets to three-part harmonies and throwing in some a capella parts, it’s hard to find current groups that showcase their vocals as much as this band does.
Their sets included some of my favorite original songs, including “Firestarter,” “Wrecking Ball,” “Good or Bad,” and my favorite “Fault Lines.” They also debuted some recent songs from an upcoming EP that were, as Galen described them, “sad.” “Shithole,” a song about yearning and desperation; “Methamphetamines”; and “Where We Once Were” are excellent songs that put you in the skin of the narrator. That’s what the best songwriters do, Jason Isbell being a prime example. These songs grab you, exactly what great songs do.
But mostly things were lighter. Covering Elvis’s “Blue Christmas,” Wham’s “Last Christmas,” and the traditional songs “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” pretty much set the mood for their own original Christmas songs from their new CD. There’s “Get Off of My Roof,” the story of a kleptomaniacal youth who just can’t help himself and gets banned from KB Toys for life; a reworked version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” with the additional title “…But Only If You Leave”; “The Present is Now,” a song that could easily become a holiday standard; and “The Annual Christmas Day Race” in which a joyful jaunt around the house turns into a competitive contact sport.
You can shoulder barge and if you’re large
Trip up any squirt
Who’s been talking trash since last year left you sprawled out in the dirt
But watch out for tricky little ones
Feigning like they’re hurt
If they’re crying they ain’t dying
Best to leave em as they were
As always, a Currys show is about having fun, and there are always Galen’s jokes (Christmas haikus this year) which are, indeed, the very worst jokes you will ever hear, regardless of the season. Their on-stage interactions are hilarious, and it’s clear they really enjoy what they’re doing. If you get a chance to see The Currys, do it. As I’ve written before about them, you don’t see disappointed people ever leaving a Currys show. They’re great writers, singers, and entertainers, and it doesn’t get much better than that.
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