Different events bring different expectations, but when it comes to an event from local promotions team Casbah, you know that arriving early is to be advised as their judicious choice of support rarely disappoints. Tonight’s bill is a case in point. Headline act (arriving to considerable excitement in the wake of excellent album ‘the divine and dirty’), the Kris Barras Band, are joined by two impressive supports – Hubcap and The Robert J Hunter Band, both of whom offer wildly different interpretations of the blues to a packed-to-the-rafters Musician Pub.
Kicking off the night, Hubcap are a potent, psyche blues duo who provide an interesting alternate reality where Thirteenth Floor Elevators were a twelve bar Blues band. Kicking off with a ramshackle rendition of the much-covered ‘roll and tumble blues’, the decision to put an acoustic through a distortion pedal sees feedback threaten to overwhelm the sound, but it’s soon tamed to the point that the heavy fuzz and gritty blues complement one another. Muddy Waters comes in for a thorough kicking next, following a swift guitar change, and you can’t help but think that the great man would have approved of this brutally minimalist take on ‘I just want to make love to you’. From there we get original tracks that slither through Hendrix territory and even a somewhat more mellow track entitled ‘sugar’, the latter offering one hell of a build-up. It’s an impressive set from a band that sound like the bastard child of Robert Johnson and Mudhoney and it warms the rapidly filling room nicely. 7
A short change over and we’re joined next by the Robert J Hunter Band. Where Hubcap seemed to revel in a fluid spontaneity, the Robert J hunter band are so tight you could bounce a quarter off them. Kicking off with ‘Loving’, a track that sounds like ZZ Top going toe-to-toe with Chuck Berry, the band and audience quickly gel and a fair few heads are nodding appreciatively as we head into ‘Rumour Mill’. A subtle change of pace sees the band strike a funky pose on ‘Mr Winter’, whilst a slow blues number gives Robert the opportunity to unleash some seriously heroic soloing, garnering a spontaneous round of applause in the process. The band conclude their all-too-short set with the rampaging ‘Hurricane’, a track that harks back to the Neil Young / Pearl Jam collaboration ‘Mirrorball’ with its electrifying riffing and crowd-pleasing finale. Leaving the stage to loud (and sadly unheeded) cries of ‘more!’ the Robert J Hunter band left the audience in no doubt as to their prowess and they’re definitely a band to watch out for in the future. 8
It’s been quite a while since the Kris Barras Band tour was first announced, but it was worth the wait. Something of a blues-rock fairy-tale, Kris signed to Mascot, one of the most respected labels in rock and blues, in the middle of recording ‘the divine and dirty’ following a chance email from the label head. Kris and his stunning band finished the album in time to head out, not only on their own headline tour, but also for Kris to join Beth Hart on her tour. It’s a workload that would crumble a lesser man, but Kris arrives on stage looking well-slept, refreshed and ready to set the crowd alight… and this he does with impressive ease. With a set-list drawn from his two albums (not to mention a handful of well-chosen covers), Kris draws in older fans and newcomers alike with a performance that is nothing short of electric.
From the off, Kris has the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. ‘Wrong place, wrong time’ is a sparkling opener drawn from the fantastic, 10/10 rated album ‘the divine and dirty’ (reviewed here) and, with no disrespect intended to the preceding bands, it’s clear that the material from ‘the divine and the dirty’ is on another level, hitting that sweet spot where blues, rock and pop combine into a perfect whole (not unlike King King at their best). When Kris pairs the explosive ‘propane’ with the glorious ‘hail Mary’, not only does it see the temperature in The Musician soar, it also invites the sort of mass sing-along that is going to see Kris Barras and his band headlining far larger venues in the months to come. ‘Heart on your sleeve’ is epic, but then ‘kick me down’ and ‘stitch me up’ arrive with such sparkling precision that the entire audience is left with their hearts in their mouths at the majesty of it all. What really makes the set is the way that Kris and his band manage to meld each song seamlessly together (even guitar changes are deftly managed so that there’s not a single break in their fluid demonstration of exquisite musicianship) and it’s nothing short of a marvel as to the way the band effortlessly combine perfect stage craft and raw emotion.
With the set flying by, Kris grounds things for a moment with the touching tribute to his father, ‘watching over me’, a heart-felt and beautiful piece of music, whilst the hard rocking ‘lovers or losers’ sees the pace pick up as Kris hurtles towards his searing rendition of ‘all along the watchtower’, an extended jam that sees Kris play guitar behind his head and even with his teeth in a performance that would surely earn Hendrix’s seal of approval. It is, of course, impossible that Kris and his band could leave without an encore, and so the band return to the stage, ending their near-flawless set with the evergreen ‘further on up the road’. The applause is deafening. 10
The Kris Barras Band, The Robert J Hunter Band and Hubcap – three amazing bands, each offering their own take on the blues. Add to the mix one of Leicester’s very best venues, the Musician Pub, fantastic sound and the ever-warm and friendly environment that comes as standard with any Casbah event and you’ve got a pretty-much perfect night. Each band brought their own unique talents to the table and it says much of the night that every audience member left with their own favourite band and moment. For me, it was the heart-poundingly brilliant double hitter of ‘Propane’ and ‘hail Mary’, but in all honesty, picking a stand-out moment from the night was a tough call.
