Review: Greg Phillips. Photos: David Harris
Memphis-born blues powerhouse Eric Gales has spent more than three decades breathing new life into the genre with his explosive guitar work and fearless songwriting. A former child prodigy, he made his debut at just 16 with The Eric Gales Band on Elektra Records. Celebrated by some of music’s biggest names, Gales has performed alongside elite guitarists such as Carlos Santana, Joe Bonamassa, Josh Smith, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Marcus King and many others.
Coming off a recent Grammy Nomination for the new album, ‘A Tribute To LJK’ which is dedicated to his brother Little Jimmy King, Gales has returned to Australia in a buoyant mood on his first ever full band tour of our country. Eric has graced the Bluesfest stage a couple of times, played Blues on Broadbeach earlier this year and performed corporate gigs in Australia but until now, had never undertaken a city by city jaunt down under. Direct from a successful Brisbane show, last night Eric Gales Band played to a sold out audience at Memo Music Hall in St.Kilda.
Before Eric’s arrival, the McNamarr Project had the honour of supporting the guitar great. Followers of Australian Musician will know that we’ve often reported on the Blues Guitar Roadshow, curated by John McNamara and Andrea Marr. When not presenting the roadshow, both of the acclaimed soul and blues artists also perform as The McNamarr Project. They’ve released 3 award-winning albums and last night as Eric Gales’ warm-up act, they performed in acoustic duo mode. Using his new Cole Clark True Hybrid guitar, John McNamara not only demonstrated his considerable fretboard prowess but also showcased his soulful vocal chops. Combined with Andrea’s amiable personality and robust and controlled voice, the pair delivered an entertaining set.
As a dramatic countdown piped out of the PA system, Eric and band took to the stage and ripped into a dynamic, extended instrumental version of Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Smokestack Lightnin’, taking the mood up and down, reading the room and finding the zone.
Eric’s fabulous five piece band consisted of Trevor McKay on guitar, Randy Stevens on bass, Nick Hayes on drums and Eric’s wife Ladonna on percussion. The audience was packed with a mix of blues aficionados, musicians and lovers of quality music.
Eric announced that he was thrilled to be back in Australia spreading his positive energy and launched into an instrumental, improvised rendition of Death of Me, which appears as vocal tune on his (also Grammy-nominated) album Crown.
“Let’s find out if y’all know the blues,” Eric tells us as the band rolled into a funked up ‘You Don’t Know The Blues’ also from the Crown album, allowing Eric to display his fluidity on the fretboard. The tune then seamlessly segued into The Stones’ ‘Miss You’ before coming out the other side with a barrage of razor sharp tones on his signature Magneto guitar.
Feeling that the crowd was holding back, Eric goaded the audience to unleash their voices. “At this point, I’m finding it hard to judge if you’re enjoying the show,” he pointed out as he egged us on some more.
Guitarist Trevor McKay was then invited to a solo spot on ‘New Beginnings’ from the instrumental album ‘Ghost Notes’, with Gales telling us to let the music take us wherever it wants to go. On a gorgeous black PRS guitar with white scratch plate, McKay played some beautiful, emotive licks, exploring everything in his pedalboard, a performance much appreciated by the discerning audience.
Gales then amped up the tempo on ‘Put That Back’, a heavy rocker from the Crown album, highlighting the power and versatility of the formidable rhythm section, consisting of Stevens, Hayes and Ladonna.
In an emotional speech, Gales indicated his gratitude at now being forever known as a two time Grammy Nominated artist, especially as the nomination is for ‘A Tribute To LJK’, an album dedicated to his dearly departed brother. He went on to perform a spirited ‘Guitar Man’ from the album.
The highlight of the night for me however was an epic performance of ‘Too Close To The Fire’, a brutally honest track about racism. While Gales loves the accolades and being recognised as an amazing artist, in this song he pondered whether if he’d get the same attention if he wasn’t famous: “Would you be friends with me? Would you be scared of me If you saw me on the street?
Would you even care about me? Give a shit about me? Would you even notice me?,” he sings in the highly emotional, smokin’ blues ballad. Not only is the song lyrically poignant, it also allows Gales’ emotions to be released via some staggering, heartfelt guitar licks, proving why he’s regarded as one of the finest exponents of the instrument in the world today.
An Eric Gales medley is always something to cherish and last night we were blessed with an energetic Voodoo Child (Slight Return) / Für Elise / Kashmir, supercharged by a timely Back in Black. Eric warned security that as soon as he finishes he was heading straight to the merch area to meet fans, which he did for over an hour. An Eric Gales gig is not just a blues, rock guitar concert, it’s an experience. Are we experienced? Damn right!
We’ve been fortunate to speak with Eric twice this year. Check out interview one here and two here.
Remaining ERIC GALES dates for Gerrard Allman Events:
Fri 21 Nov | Harmonie German Club, Canberra | Karen Lee Andrews.
Sat 22 Nov | Factory Theatre, Marrickville | Karen Lee Andrews.
Mon 24 Nov | The Gov, Adelaide | Karen Lee Andrews.
Weds 26 Nov | Freo Social, Fremantle | Dave Brewer Music Trio.
Fri 28 Nov | The Night Cat, Fitzroy | The McNaMarr Project.
Tickets available www.gaevents.com.au
