Nat Freedberg - Freeloader

I had almost called it a night last Friday. It seemed like a relatively soft weekend for shows. Then I noticed that Freeloader was scheduled to perform at Sally O’Brien’s, which is pretty much a stone’s throw from where I live. Having nothing to lose, at the eleventh hour I waltzed over to the rapidly-evolving Union Sq, and got in a few minutes late into their performance, with a respectable crowd grooving and mingling.

Freeloader

The sturdy combo of lead vocalist/guitarist/lynchpin Nat Freedberg, guitarist Charles Hansen, bassist Jim Haggerty and drummer Jim Janota gave us two sets of mostly Nat Freedberg originals, many drawn from his two Freeloader releases (The Path of Least Resistance and Freeloader II, both highly recommended listens) and his solo outings, and the Satanics.

Freeloader’s old school hard rock approach is as genuine and inventive as they come. Nat’s gruff, engaging vocals sounding at times like AC/DC’s Bon Scott, and lead guitarist Charles Hansen’s intricate but driving licks sounding very Physical Graffiti-era Led Zeppelin influenced.

Charles Hanson - Freeloader

The rhythm section of Jim Haggerty (a regular backer for Nat’s solo outings) and Jim Janota (his 'olde roque' partner from their Upper Crust days) also packs plenty of power, mystery and hammer of the gods into the brew.

Faves of mine include "Gimme What’s Left of Your Love", "Put Another Cross by the Side of the Road", "Smokin’ Hot", "Nobody Gives a F***", "10 Songs to Make an Album" and their rocked up version of Billy Preston’s "Will It Go Round in Circles."

Jim Janota - Freeloader

In short, it wasn’t such a soft weekend for rock after all, and I was glad I chose this "path of least resistance!"

Nat Freedberg's Bandcamp page

NatFreedberg.com