In The Crown Eric Gales has released one of the albums of the year, if not one of the albums of his storied career. A brilliantly energetic record that covers a huge amount of emotional ground, it’s the record Gales needed to make, highlighting his strengths as both singer and guitarist, and with strong lyrical themes. With fantastic British bluesman Danny Bryant (whose raw authenticity has long made him a blues circuit favourite) joining Eric, anticipation for the tour has been high and the room is packed despite the early start time.
And early it is. Sadly, the Rescue Rooms has one of its randomly annoying curfews in place and, having raced through rush hour traffic, we just about make it for the second half of Danny’s set, which is deeply frustrating but, looking at the numbers heading in, we’re not the only ones struggling to make the ridiculous start time. Venues: for the love of all things musical, start your shows at a sensible time, especially when there are only two acts on!
As we arrive, Danny is engaged in a lengthy blues number, complete with drum solo, that has the audience in thrall. Like Eric Gales, Danny Bryant is an artist who wears his heart on his sleeve, but the second half of the show is thrillingly electric, allowing plenty of space for Danny’s flashing fingers to work their magic on the fretboard. Always an engaging presence, it’s mesmerising to watch Danny lose himself in the performance, prowling the stage and engaging the crowd, eliciting whoops and cheers throughout.
Having already floored the assembled throng, Danny leads his band into the gorgeous slow blues of Little Wing. The crowd know what to expect, but Danny rings every ounce of tension out of the performance before finally building to the thunderous climax and delivering on its promise. Finally, to warm up (! as if the sweltering crowd need warming after such a display), Danny leads his band into a pair of chunky blues rockers that more than serve to pave the way for Eric Gales. He leaves the stage to rapturous and well-earned applause, before heading to the merch table to sign items and talk to fans.
It’s ten past eight when Eric and his band amble on stage, seemingly unaware of the excitement that greets their entrance. Jazz blasts from the pa as the band go about their business of setting up and then, with the stage bathed in an appropriately hellish red, O Fortuna! paves the way for Eric to lead his band into a blistering blues jam, which opens with a wall of guitar and only gets louder from there. It’s an auspicious start, and you can see Eric feeding off the energy of band and crowd alike, prowling the stage like a predator. Having set the pace, Eric takes a moment to talk to the crowd, as he does often throughout the course of the evening. Like so many blues artists, he plays the blues from a point of severe pain, but his goal is to bring both unity and joy from the experience. It’s a lengthy chat – funny, poignant and utterly real, and it’s just one of the many elements that makes an Eric Gales show such a special experience. He then leads us into You Don’t Know The Blues, although he generously concedes that the audience probably does. He follows it with Survivors, the audience raising their arms as one on the chorus, unifying the crowd and bring us all a little closer together.
Another pause sees Eric waxing lyrical about the fact that his guitar playing has regularly overshadowed his vocal prowess and, to prove the point, he offers up a gorgeously reworked version of The Storm, cutting back the soul vibe of its recorded counterpart and rendering it as a dusty blues complete with John Barry strings. The sublime Stand Up, with its lyrics of gentle defiance, gets a shimmering jazz break, which shows off the band’s remarkable chops, and then, as a highlight of the evening, the wonderful Ladonna takes the lead for a stunning Take Me Just As I Am. Watching Ladonna transform as she takes the microphone is not only a treat for the audience – Eric positively glows as his wife blazes through the song, and the pair have such an impossible chemistry that you cannot take your eyes off either one for a second.
Following Ladonna’s breath-taking tour-de-force, the band race through an instrumental jam, which showcases their joint skills, all of which serves to prepare the ground for a remarkable Too Close To The Fire. Built around the same chord progression as Comfortably Numb and with an emotionally charged vocal that gets right under the skin, it ends with an epic guitar solo that leaves the crowd cheering and whooping in delight. It’s an awe-inspiring moment, but also one that proves too much for Eric, who briefly freezes. As always, it’s Ladonna who, with dignity and poise, calmly brings him back to the moment. It’s a rare artist who shares such vulnerability, but for Eric, it’s the whole point, and it leaves you feeling less like you’ve seen a show and more like you’ve been in personal conversation with the man.
It’s difficult to express for those who weren’t present, but the raw edge that Eric brings to his music, while commendable, is a double-edged blade that can cut both ways, and it’s only through communion with his band and his audience that Eric seems able to find his centre. However, once restored, his humour reasserts itself and, after another brief chat, Eric tears into The Crown. On record, a brilliant duet with Joe Bonamassa, you can’t help but wish that Danny would take the stage in that role, but the interplay between Eric and his keyboardist more than makes up for Joe’s absence, and it’s a bruising performance. And then, just as we think it’s done, Eric announces (“because you haven’t been shouting all night for it”) a Hendrix cover in the form of Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) – “boom” indeed!
In countless interviews, blues artists will tell you the same thing – the blues is about bringing joy from pain – although not all artists genuinely live this creed. Eric, however, is the living embodiment of the blues. When he tells you his music comes from a point of personal pain, there is no artifice in his words. He literally means it, and you can feel his emotion in every note he sings and every solo he plays. Yet, there’s love in his playing too. Love for his wife; love for his audience; love for his band; and, of course, love for the music that quite literally saved his life. And that love is entirely reciprocated by an audience who hang on his every word. As such, the final words of this review are to Eric: for the music; for the compassion and for the love: thank you – what you do brings joy and unity, and the evening was very special indeed.
Eric Gales UK Tour with Danny Bryant
Tickets: https://bit.ly/37WsWpc
Bilston, The Robin
Wednesday 30 March 2022
Manchester Academy
Thursday 31 March 2022
Glasgow, Òran Mór
Friday 1 April 2022
Whitley Bay Playhouse
Saturday 2 April 2022
Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
Sunday 3 April 2022
Eric Gales – June 2022 UK Tour
with special guest Dom Martin
Tickets: https://bit.ly/37WsWpc
Assembly Leamington
Thursday 2nd June 2022
Chester, The Live Rooms
Saturday 4 June 2022
York, The Crescent Community Venue
Sunday 5 June 2022
Newcastle, The Cluny
Monday 6 June 2022
Bury, The Met Theatre
Tuesday 7 June 2022
Basingstoke, The Haymarket Theatre
Wednesday 8 June 2022
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