It’s a Tuesday night and man is the Robin 2 packed. With two cracking acts, both of whom can lay claim to being headliners in their own right, it’s hardly surprising that people have come from far and wide, and it’s one of those rare nights where the support garners almost as much attention as the main act and deservedly so.
Taking to the stage with sublime confidence, Wille and the bandits just keep getting better. Opening with the sparkling victim of the night, the sound might be a touch muddy at the outset, but it soon clears up and, by the time we reach the Floyd-esque break at the heart of the track, the audience is already hooked. Make love maintains the pace, but it’s the fantastic, swampy hip-hop of keep it on the down-low that sends everything over the edge, the band’s funky energy getting heads around the room nodding along. Another highlight follows hard on its heels in the form of four million days, a track that starts out acoustic and ten builds beautifully to an epic, Gilmour-esque solo that makes the most of Wille’s remarkable skills on the slide guitar. From there, the band take a victory lap with the hard rocker, 1970, before neatly wrapping things up with bad news, very much leaving the audience wanting more. The band are returning for a headline tour of their own in March 2020, so make sure you check out the dates; as good as they are on record, Wille and the Bandits come into their own on stage.
Hot off the back of his incredibly impressive debut album, Kris Barras is back with Light it up, a tighter, more streamlined effort than its predecessor. The same sense of ambition that underpins the album’s slick grooves can be seen in Kris’ stage presentation, which sees CO2 launchers littering the front of the stage and an expanded line up (now featuring two backing singers) in order to bring the songs to life. Kris, resplendent in a Black Sabbath tee arrives last on stage, his band having taken their places to rapturous applause, and leads them into ignite, an aptly-titled track that gets the party started. From there it’s pretty non-stop (brief drum solo notwithstanding), with Kris leading his band through a good chunk of the new album including counterfeit people, what a way to go, what you get and Vegas son all making the cut alongside the choicest tracks from the still-bristling debut album.
Highlights include the heavy, Southern rock of what you get and a powerful rock ‘n’ roll running through my veins, the latter recalling fellow bluesman Dan Patlansky, whilst a heretofore less apparent Bon Jovi influence appears in the slick presentation and pop-heavy hooks. Kris, as engaging as ever, does his best to encourage audience participation at every opportunity, his years as a cage fighter showing through in his confidence and showmanship. It certainly does much to give the lie to those who claim rock is dead when a comparatively new face on the scene can pack out a venue such as the Robin and there’s a sneaking suspicion that, with such ambition on open display, Kris’s sights are set on larger spaces still.
An energetic performer, Kris Barras has really taken the blues-rock world by storm and, if he can maintain this trajectory, he may yet prove to be the UK’s answer to Joe Bonamassa. If I have any criticism of the new album (and the corresponding live shows) it is that the debut offered a touch more light and shade than is found here, and it would be nice to see that dynamic edge fleshed out on the next album, but when faced with material of this quality, it is a minor complaint, and I have no doubt that Kris is set for bigger things still. An outstanding night of blistering blues rock, whichever way you cut it, both Wille and the Bandits and Kris Barras offered a compelling take on the state of blues rock and the audience are left well-satisfied.
