At this point, I feel I’ve said everything there is to say about the great Gary Clark Jr, yet once again I find myself at one of his concerts in absolute awe of his talent. The way he makes everything look so effortless, the way he moves along that guitar and makes us move in return – and don’t get me started on his backing band, who are equally brilliant and occasionally are given their chance to shine (but we know whose show this is!)
Gary Clark Jr – the acclaimed Austin based musician – recently found himself back in Australia playing Bluesfest for the second consecutive year, and with it came a string of sideshows, the final of which was held on Friday night at Sydney’s Metro Theatre. This was the most jam packed “SOLD OUT” show I’ve seen at the venue for some time – a testament to the growing popularity of a musician who really has never had a “hit”, just the growing word of his live prowess (not to mention that brilliant Live record that he recently put out).
Hitting a stage drowned in red light, Gary was almost impossible to see amongst it – you could just make out his silhouette and a beanie hanging off his head. The night opened with “Next Door Neighbor Blues”, before jumping into “Travis County” as the lights came up and by the time the third song came in, Gary and the band were already well into the jams (and in full view). Tracks like the already incredible “When My Train Pulls In” are cranked up a notch as he waves in jams and cranks it up to 11. Songs like that give us the Blues Rock, and then tracks like “Ain’t Messin ‘Round” add in the soul that would make James Brown proud. And then there’s “Please Come Home” – and music doesn’t get more soulful than that.
A new song was performed solo on the guitar and sounded spectacular – a good omen for things to come no doubt – and the night ended with a two song encore and the track “Don’t Owe You a Thang”. There’s this moment in that song, where he pauses, channels a bit of the great Howlin’ Wolf and screams his way back into it. That moment is everything. That moment is the brilliance of Gary Clark Jr., and as a frequent visitor to our shores, let’s hope things stay that way (I’m sure his partner would have it no other way…)! We can’t get enough.
The Sydney show was the final date of Gary’s 2015 Australian Tour
