In what was also a homecoming for West Michigan native and bassist Johnny Bradley, Clark electrified an appreciative crowd with his bluesy rock attack at 20 Monroe Live on Tuesday night. (Review, photo gallery)
Passion Play: Gary Clark Jr. on stage at 20 Monroe Live on Tuesday night. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
At its best, live music is magical: those moments when the players are channeling some kind of raw and otherworldly inspiration, and simply relaying the sounds that embody the very essence of what they feel.
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Or when an instrument becomes so emotion-drenched, so transportive, that it is nearly an extension of the body, mind and soul.
Magical and Energetic: Gary Clark Jr. led his band through a dynamic set on Tuesday evening. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
Or when an ecstatic crowd is so overwhelmed by the musical moment they’re witnessing that the only possible reaction is to return with music of their own in the form of an audible exclamation — a groan, a whistle, a shouted expletive.
When Gary Clark Jr. and his rollicking blues band — featuring West Michigan native and bassist Johnny Bradley — turned the corner into a solo during the song “You Saved Me” in the middle of their set on Tuesday night at 20 Monroe Live in Grand Rapids, the room erupted into a celebration of musical euphoria.
Clark rolled into an entrancing solo that filled the room with an incredibly warm yet tastefully distorted solo, starting with long, swelling notes, before ripping into a fiery succession of notes at a staggering rate of precision and speed.
During his two-hour long Grand Rapids stopover, Clark — an electric guitar virtuoso and blues songwriter from Austin, Texas — displayed his ability to both fly over the fretboard with ease, while also showcasing his intuitive musicianship and tactfulness by using unnerving suspense to his advantage, allowing the spaces where he wasn’t even playing to be just as powerful as the times he was.
SMOLDERING SOLOS AND A LENGTHY, FIERY ENCORE
At top of the set, Clark and his band took to the stage amidst a whirlwind of applause. Without saying a word, the 33-year-old blues-rock troubadour began the intro to “Catfish Blues.” His face hidden under the shadow of his wide-brimmed fedora, Clark let his fingers take the spotlight, letting the muscular intro burn slowly, then igniting his band and the crowd as he finally stepped to the microphone and delivered the first phrase in a soulful growl: “Well I wish…I was a catfish.”
Star Power: Clark brought that and more to Tuesday’s show. (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
The modern blue/R&B-fused groove of “When My Train Pulls In” sparked a wave of head-bobbing and swaying throughout the capacity crowd. In the heat of energy, Clark rolled into a smoldering, frenzy of a solo, his fingers burning along the fretboard of his red Gibson SG with ease. “Cold Blooded” displayed Clark’s silky falsetto and impressive use of suspense, as he teased the crowd with a solo of small accents and droning single notes.
Changing pace, Clark and his well-versed band steered their blue train towards a slide-guitar led blues ballad in “My Baby’s Gone.” Continuing in the same mood, the quartet jumped into a grooving, 12-bar-blues jam, fit for many a smoky, hole-in-the-wall blues club. The song, “If Trouble Was Money” blended Clark’s own modern blues twist with all the traditional elements of the genre. Guitarist King Zapata took one of his first solos of the night and even amid a broken string mid-song, still managed to pull off a magnificent solo, and a seamless guitar swap.
Johnny Bradley (Photo/Anthony Norkus)
After the main set, the band exited stage while an energetic and sincere encore grew. After a number of minutes without sign of the band, the rowdy crowd began chanting “Gary” in unison. In as true an encore as any, the band rewarded the audiences persistence with four full songs: “My Baby’s Gone,” a slide-guitar slow burner, showcasing Clark’s passionate voice; a hard-hitting cover of “Come Together” that saw the entire room singing along; “Church,” a tender ballad where Clark serenaded the crowd with a mounted harmonica and a meaningful, hopeful refrain.
Ending the memorable night with the same sonic fireworks the band started with, Clark and his troupe played “Bright Lights,” a fan favorite, soaked with swagger, swelling guitars, crashing drums and room-rattling bass.
In a climactic solo, Clark’s hands strummed a tremolo swell over his entire fretboard in dazzling fashion, before signaling to his band and turning around to the chorus once more for a grand finale that was all but bursting at the seams.
PHOTO GALLERY: Gary Clark Jr. and Jackie Venson at 20 Monroe Live
Photos by Anthony Norkus
Copyright 2017, Spins on Music LLC
