Saturday 29th March, Paris
Neal Black and the Healers promise you a road trip into the
roots of one of America’s most popular music genres. These blues rock legends
perform tonight at the Jazz Club Étoile in Paris’ 17th arrondissement, to
promote their new album Before Daylight released March 2014, under the French Dixiefrog
label.
The venue, which has staged some of the greatest names in
jazz, from Dizzie Gillepsie to Diana Krall and Dee Dee Bridgewater, now hosts
(for more than three hours) one of the most dynamic and inventive blues rock
acts. Neal Black is a Texas-born artist has lived between southern France and
the US since 2004, , performing a lot of shows in Europe. His unique approach
to lead guitar mixing Texan roots with a turbo-charged Chris Rea or Peter Green
sound has won him many praises.
In the darkly lit room, with only a few colored spots here
and there, the musicians appeared on stage plainly dressed and openly smiling.
They started with ‘Stepping Out’, a punchy and classic blues rock track making
a strong instrumental introduction to the night, on which Neal confirms right
away his mastering of the guitar, full of an American open-road spirit. The
public is already fond of them. The atmosphere of the night is very friendly
and open; it is striking and heartwarming to see how happy the musicians are to
be playing together and sharing it with the public – the drummer especially,
Dave Bowler, who wears a constant smile on his lips.
The second song, ‘I’ll Fly Away’, is a country ballad on
which Neal begins to sing with his distinct low and hoarse voice. We can just
feel the Southern American roots alright here, and almost feel the sun on our
neck and the dust in our eyes. The French harmonica player Pascal Bako
Mikaelian joins them on the third song ‘Poor Boy’, perfectly fitting the whole
country-blues rock mood. Bako gives a very nice solo using a broad tone
spectrum. The music alternates well between solos and riffs, keeping the
public’s attention and making it easier to follow and enjoy the concert.
After a presentation of the musicians, they continue with
‘Jail in San Antone’, a song that Neal wrote while in jail in Texas. It starts
on a loud and happy 60s blues rock rhythm, and the singer starts interacting
with the public, who repeat his “I said yeah!” happily, enjoying the fact that
they’re contributing. Mike Lattrell then, on the piano, makes a fired up solo
and is literally dancing on his keyboards. Rarely have I seen a band with such
communicative enthusiasm.
Then enters another guitarist: Fred Chapellier, also French.
He is a very close friend and colleague of Neal‘s. ‘Daily Bread’ is a song they
made up together with Nico Wayne Toussaint a couple of years ago. Neal and Fred
do a little guitar Q/A on this one, showing their perfect concord – we can read
on their faces that they’re having a blast, and as it develops the public get
all the more excited.
Neal presents the following song from their new album,
‘Before Daylight’. His overall lyrical content approaches more a bluesy version
of Bukowski than classic country/rock, and the mood of this particular song
somehow lifts you from the ground. You’re back on the ground quickly though
with the following ‘Road Back Home’, a classic country song – you can
absolutely picture yourself driving on a never-ending road after a long night
at the bar, the sun rising on your back. Once more, Fred‘s second guitar begins
to communicate with Neal‘s; the eager public begin to clasp their hands, and
repeat the singer’s “I say yeah – oh yeah”, until a climax is reached and it
all ends in furious cheering.
The song ‘Jesus & Johnnie Walker’, referring of course
to the Whiskey label, sees Fred coming back on stage. Also extracted from their
newest album, it is a very enjoyable song with funny and controversial
(depending on where you stand) lyrics like “You gotta let Jesus, or Johnnie
Walker, take your hand”, “Jesus and the Devil are the same ol’ man”. Equally
profound is the following song, ‘American Dream’, a critical account of living
in America and its disillusions – “as much as I love it….”, says Neal.
Next, ‘Who Do You Love’ starts very dynamically and at one
point both guitars take on a slightly oriental, mysterious aura; a very nice
change from the pragmatic country American mood. Another guitar solo definitely
asserts an oriental touch. A pause in the song occurs where only Dave, on
drums, and Kris Jefferson, on bass guitar, remain on stage and start playing
together. It is one of the nicest surprises of the night: Kris masters his bass
during a highly technical solo, and is clearly enjoying his little moment of
glory – and rightly so! The public is gobsmacked by his controlled nerve,
rapidity and creativity. After a very warm applause, everyone gets back on
stage to end the song in style.
The following track adopts a calm ternary rhythm, and could
make you think of an old gangster movie soundtrack. ‘I Don’t Get the Blues’
talks about a lonely life in Texas: “Down here in Texas / I’m on my own”, “I
don’t get the blues / When I’m stoned”. Neal’s Voodoo-like voice on a
background of harmonica greatly adds to the lone-cowboy style. Next, ‘Hurt So
Bad’ sees a guest coming on stage: Bako’s daughter, Lucile Mikaelian. She has a
powerful voice and a good blues feeling – she does not use a great range of
nuances though, but she has good potential and there is no doubt that with time
she will find her own personal style. At one point Dave begins his first solo
on his drums, acclaimed by everyone, so wide-ranging and melodious it reminds
us that drums really are a special instrument indeed; not only a supportive
one. The night was one of getting back to one’s roots; even if they’re not
properly our own, the band was happy enough to share them with us.
This article appeared on AAAmusic.co.uk.
No comments:
Post a Comment