Beginning
with his major label debut Blak and Blue in
2013, Gary Clark Jr has been practically at pains to demonstrate that there is more to
him than the blues that he has been playing since he was a teenager in Austin,
Texas; all three of his studio albums boast an impressive – sometimes dizzying –
array of styles, ranging from soul to hip-hop to contemporary R&B. His
latest album, This Land, continues
his mission to free himself from cloying ‘blues saviour’ expectations, and provided
him with a good reason to stop by London’s Roundhouse on 17th June.
Striking an
effortlessly cool figure as he strode onto the stage just after 8:30pm, Clark
was joined by his four-man band, which has been expanded for this tour with the
addition of keyboardist Jon Deas and his huge bank of keys and synthesisers.
Clark’s ventures into different genres had rewarded him with a lively young
audience, sprinkled with the older blues aficionados who, one imagines, might
have been hoping for a less adventurous set list. New material was blended seamlessly
with older cuts like “Bright Lights” and "Ain’t Messin’ ‘Round", which were
rapturously received, but the highlight came when bassist Johnny Bradley and
second guitarist King Napata left Clark and Deas to perform a mini acoustic
set, for which they turned the audience into a congregation for a soulful performance of “Church”
with Deas on gospel-style piano.
Friendly
without being overly chatty, Clark’s strong rapport with the audience was
rewarded with shouts of “Go on, Gary!” when he really got his teeth into a
guitar solo. Possibly the most interesting moment occurred when, in the space
between “You Saved Me” and “Low Down Rolling Stone”, Clark began noodling
seemingly absent-mindedly, playing the blues. Before long the crowd was
whooping and hollering, and the solo built up steam before Clark eventually segued
into the next song. It was an all too brief reminder that, for everything Gary
Clark Jr has done to distance himself from the blues, he remains a true master
of the craft.
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