Church of Jelly Roll offers redemption (and a lot of fine music too)

The Church of Jelly Roll operated at full throttle last night in a sold-out show. If you were feeling down in the dumps, Jelly Roll was there to give you a big boost. If you wanted to hear his music, that, of course, was also part of the night in what certainly could have been a spiritual reviv-al for many.

The show began in a most unusual way. Jelly Roll and his wife, Bunnie XO, walked together down the aisle on the floor, slapping hands and giving hugs to fans before they gave each other a big kiss to get the night rolling musically with Jelly Roll alone atop a stage at the rear of the floor.

With that, he gave a heartfelt rendition of "I Am Not Okay." Like most of the rest of the show, there's power in the words "When it's all said and done//I'm not okay/But it's all gonna be al-right/It's not okay/But we're all gonna be alright."

The words go from "I" to "we," and that was part of the atmosphere. More than once, Jelly Roll talked about the crowd being one big family. In fact, at one point, he told the crowd to hug a stranger next to or in front of them. Acknowledging it may be awkward, people did so.

"Tonight will be a night of redemption. Tonight will be a night of love. But most importantly I hope it's tone of the best concerts you see in your fucken life, Boston," Jelly Roll said after finish-ing "I Am Not Okay."

He was pretty much on target.

Jelly played a number of songs from his upcoming release "Beautifully Broken," also the name of the tour. "Get By" and "Burning" stood up as did "Liar" (the positivity reigns here also: "you try to keep me down/Try to put me underground/But I'm only going higher").

It's not always easy on a crowd for an artist to play new material, but that was no problem with Jelly Roll. While not overtly commercial, the songs were easy to get into.

There just aren't any artists out there like Jelly Roll today – at least not in country. He comes off about as down-to-earth and heartfelt as possible whether on awards shows or in Boston. He's all about people bettering themselves and finding a way to lift themselves up.

Of course, he knows that full well himself, having spent time in jail and been lost to drugs. He doesn't take his success for granted or get smug about it at all.

Jelly Roll also wasn't afraid to cede time to his band and the opening act, Alexandra Kay. She came up on stage to help out with "Friends in Low Places" along with singing "Man! I Feel Like a Woman." Give Jelly Roll credit for including her on the tour, and he also offered support of her in his comments to the crowd, underscoring the fact that she is an independent artist trying to make her way.

The concert ended for Jelly Roll in the same place it began – the rear stage on the floor. After more than 95 minutes, Jelly Roll was ready to be redeemed and loved. And with that so were the members of the Church of Jelly Roll.

As he sang the megahit about being a lost cause, water poured down from up above as if he was being purified by heaven. This was the coda of a powerful moment of a powerful show.

Middle act Warren Zeiders did not get off to the best start. His opening song, "Take It to the Grave," went nowhere and was too dull. Fortunately for the Pennsylvania native, the set grew stronger as he went along with the band, which sounded on the generic side in the beginning, com-ing more into their own.

Zeiders ended with an excellent one-two punch of his number one hit "Pretty Little Poison" and "Ride the Lightning." Powerful stuff. Zeiders is best seen with a full set (he's back in May headlining in Boston).

Kay opened with a more pop-oriented set. Catching only three songs, she sang with confidence and powerfully. She has the goods.