The House
of Blues has many rooms, and Hamilton Loomis mostly inhabits the soul/funk
apartments, with a sound that suggests Stevie Wonder suddenly taking a liking
to some Led Zeppelin riffs. His
disposition on stage is sunny, generally reflecting songs with strong melodies
and simple, straightforward lyrics, delivered with impeccable musicianship by
him and his band. He’s also a bit of a
showman, given to sharing in some goofily choreographed moves with his
compadres.
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| Has anyone seen that confounded stage? |
These
elements are in evidence early on ‘She’s Had Enough’, a typically soulful
affair wedded to a great, rocking guitar riff and embroidered with harp from
Loomis, while drummer Armando Aussenac weaves in some neat cross-patterns. The following ‘Everything I Had’ is similarly
emblematic of his style, a smooth song punctuated by a couple of bursts of
funky staccato – Loomis has a particular fondness for funky staccato. His perfectly pitched vocals are similarly
smooth, and if there’s a sense that the overall effect lacks a bit of heft, as
on the rather unremarkable new song ‘Let Your Feelings Show’, then the
counterpoint is that it’s always pleasingly nimble.
Loomis and
co have plenty tricks up their sleeve to ratchet up the performance levels
though, starting with Fabien Hernandez’ eye-popping tenor sax solo on ‘Give It
Back’. And they close the first half of
their set with ‘Bow Wow’, which incorporates the trademark Loomis walkabout in
the audience for some extended guitar soloing around a medley of classic rock
riffs such as ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and ‘American Woman’.
That turns
up the temperature for the second half, in which a succession of strong songs
lend feature spots to his band members, starting with another wailing sax solo
from Hernandez on ‘Get My Blues On’.
Dante Ware delivers a squelchy turn on 6 string bass during ‘Stuck In A
Rut’, adding in a slice of ‘Crosstown Traffic’ for good measure. Meanwhile
Aussenac gives his hired drum kit such a going over on ‘Partner In Crime’ that
running repairs are necessary by the time he’s done.
The good
time ‘Workin’ Real Hard’ keeps the mood going, before they pull out another
party piece during the hot funk of ‘Take A Number (Stand In Line)’, as they all
rotate their instruments and belt out a succession of solos that bring the
house down – especially the synth spot from Aussenac and a blistering guitar workout
from Hernandez. Like I said –
showmanship!
On a
glorious June evening the Voodoo Rooms may not have needed warming up, but
support band The Blueswater do a good job of it anyway, with a driving set of
Chicago R&B. With the ever
impressive Jed Potts on guitar, when they cut loose it’s the real deal, even if
Gordon Jones’ harp could have been higher in the mix. ‘Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)’ seems a bit
under-powered, and I could do without front man Felipe Schrieberg channelling
Screaming Jay Hawkins quite so literally on ‘I Put A Spell On You’. But ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’, and their all
action version of John Lee Hooker’s ‘Boom Boom’, with Charlie Wild joining in
with Potts on a guitar wig-out, really do cut the mustard.
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