It’s a cold, damp December Tuesday night. The Caves feels chilly too, and with only maybe 50 or 60 people in the room the ambience is unpromising.
Atlanta's Eddie 9V and his band are unfazed though. They come onstage and crack into ‘Beg Borrow And Steal’ from his 2023 album Capricorn, a surefire upbeat groover with a great hook. It may not have the horns that decorated the studio version, but Lane Kelly’s bass is funky, Chad Mason’s keys add plenty of colour, and the Voltster (as I’m sure none of his friends call him) is a cheery, chirpy presence at the heart of things. Things are looking up.
The vibe of Capricorn and new album Saratoga is largely a fresh, snap, crackle and pop take on old-fashioned soul, but live 9 Volt and band are a sturdier, bluesier proposition. So their reading of Albert King’s ‘Travelin’ Man’ has plenty of oomph, with Eddie contributing a satisfying degree
of guitar sizzle, and Mason adding barroom piano for extra jollification. They give Freddie King’s ‘Meet Me In The Morning’ an outing too, and give it a dynamic treatment in which 9V alternates between controlled pinging and sudden squalls of guitar, showing an impressive capacity to mix things up, complemented by a suitably expressive vocal.
There are a couple of other covers along the way that also impress. Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Miss James’ flexes a heap of muscle, with Mason knocking out a blistering organ segment, given spiky support by Eddie’s guitar. And there’s an Al Green song too, that I don’t catch the title of but which is a tough strut in a very different vein to ‘Let’s Stay Together’, so much so that it’s the opportunity for drummer Dave Green to launch himself into a solo that starts with him using his hands, rather than sticks, and develops into a full-scale shock and awe barrage.
Their originals stand up well in this company though. 9 Volt shows that he really does know his way around a guitar on the funky, catchy soul of ‘Halo’, spritzing up a couple of solos with smatterings of twists, turns and frills. ‘How Long’ is classic soul with another strong hook, and a rolling groove that’s given an extra shine by Mason’s keyboards, while our Eddie knocks out some snazzy guitar and a vocal reminiscent of his Atlanta-based hero Sean Costello. And ‘Little Black Flies’ is a great example of storytelling soul, with another impressive 9V vocal that’s strong on his trademark falsetto, plus a guitar solo on which he conjures up a remarkable sax-like tone. (At which point it’s worth noting that Eddie 9V does not come bearing a plethora of effects pedals. He has one effect on his amp that he uses on one song, but otherwise it’s all down to his fingers and his manipulation of his decidedly beat-up looking Telecaster.)
They close the show with the hip-activating ‘Saratoga’ itself, a typically savvy soul groove. But they’re quickly persuaded back, to encore with the brooding, low-down funkiness of ‘3am In Chicago’, and the rhythmically offbeat, half-rapped, bayou-tinged ‘Yella Alligator’, sporting yet another convincing hook to end on a high.
I’m guessing I wasn’t the only member of the audience to get warmed up by this set. Eddie 9V has a real, positive presence, plays guitar with personality, and he and his band clearly know their onions. I’d like to think he’ll attract a much bigger crowd next time he’s in town.
Atlanta's Eddie 9V and his band are unfazed though. They come onstage and crack into ‘Beg Borrow And Steal’ from his 2023 album Capricorn, a surefire upbeat groover with a great hook. It may not have the horns that decorated the studio version, but Lane Kelly’s bass is funky, Chad Mason’s keys add plenty of colour, and the Voltster (as I’m sure none of his friends call him) is a cheery, chirpy presence at the heart of things. Things are looking up.
The vibe of Capricorn and new album Saratoga is largely a fresh, snap, crackle and pop take on old-fashioned soul, but live 9 Volt and band are a sturdier, bluesier proposition. So their reading of Albert King’s ‘Travelin’ Man’ has plenty of oomph, with Eddie contributing a satisfying degree
Eddie 9V - it's all in the fingers, people |
There are a couple of other covers along the way that also impress. Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Miss James’ flexes a heap of muscle, with Mason knocking out a blistering organ segment, given spiky support by Eddie’s guitar. And there’s an Al Green song too, that I don’t catch the title of but which is a tough strut in a very different vein to ‘Let’s Stay Together’, so much so that it’s the opportunity for drummer Dave Green to launch himself into a solo that starts with him using his hands, rather than sticks, and develops into a full-scale shock and awe barrage.
Their originals stand up well in this company though. 9 Volt shows that he really does know his way around a guitar on the funky, catchy soul of ‘Halo’, spritzing up a couple of solos with smatterings of twists, turns and frills. ‘How Long’ is classic soul with another strong hook, and a rolling groove that’s given an extra shine by Mason’s keyboards, while our Eddie knocks out some snazzy guitar and a vocal reminiscent of his Atlanta-based hero Sean Costello. And ‘Little Black Flies’ is a great example of storytelling soul, with another impressive 9V vocal that’s strong on his trademark falsetto, plus a guitar solo on which he conjures up a remarkable sax-like tone. (At which point it’s worth noting that Eddie 9V does not come bearing a plethora of effects pedals. He has one effect on his amp that he uses on one song, but otherwise it’s all down to his fingers and his manipulation of his decidedly beat-up looking Telecaster.)
They close the show with the hip-activating ‘Saratoga’ itself, a typically savvy soul groove. But they’re quickly persuaded back, to encore with the brooding, low-down funkiness of ‘3am In Chicago’, and the rhythmically offbeat, half-rapped, bayou-tinged ‘Yella Alligator’, sporting yet another convincing hook to end on a high.
I’m guessing I wasn’t the only member of the audience to get warmed up by this set. Eddie 9V has a real, positive presence, plays guitar with personality, and he and his band clearly know their onions. I’d like to think he’ll attract a much bigger crowd next time he’s in town.