SPILL LIVE REVIEW: GARY CLARK JR. w/ ABRAHAM ALEXANDER @ HISTORY, TORONTO

GARY CLARK JR. w/ ABRAHAM ALEXANDER

@ HISTORY, TORONTO

MAY 26, 2024

Within the last two months, Gary Clark Jr. has dropped his latest album, JPEG RAW, has opened for The Rolling Stones, and was a featured artist on Slash’s Orgy Of The Damned. Truly, it is an exciting time to be a fan of Clark and to have seen his artistry evolve over the last decade up to this point has been an incredible experience. Currently in the midst of his JPEG RAW North American tour, Clark, along with supporting artist Abraham Alexander, took the stage for their first of two sold out dates at Toronto’s History.

Alexander walked on to the rapidly growing audience, solo with just an acoustic guitar and a collection of well-written songs. While very brief, his set was full of flash guitar licks that complimented his smooth baritone timbre of his voice. His songs spoke of engaging and autobiographical narratives that examined the immigrant experience and the challenges of taking a chance on the hope of a better life. In only a handful of songs, Alexander proved himself to be not only a charismatic performer, but a compelling songwriting.

Clark exudes an effortless and nearly unparalleled sense of coolness as he saunters on stage backed by a newly expanded, seven-piece band consisting of long-time guitarist King Zapata, drummer JJ Johnson, multi-instrumentalist Elijah Ford, keyboardist Jon Deas, and Clark’s sisters – Shanan, Shawn, and Savannah – on backing vocals. This was immediately noticeable to great effect on the opening song, “Maktub”, a jangly rocker elevated by lush, gospel inspired harmonies. Denoting a level of confidence in JPEG RAW, Clark would perform eight of the album’s 12 songs, which would account for just over half of his set. While stylistically different from his more traditional blues style, the pop, funk, and soulful indulgences of his new record only served to enrich his performance.

JPEG RAW ALBUM REVIEW

Musically, Clark and his band put on an exceptional performance. The chemistry amid this unit was incredibly tight, which allowed for extended intros, outros and solo sections to feel masterfully improvised in both their performance and length. Clark remains among, if not the, most thrilling guitarist to watch live with every solo weaving into a state of freefall as Clark embarks into the unknown with only a final destination in mind. It is such an inspiring display of creative performance that cuts Clark and his band a part from their contemporaries. Highlights from their set included “When My Train Pulls In”, “Hyperwave”, “This Is Who We Are”, “Feed The Babies”, “Funk Witch U”, and the quintessential “Bright Lights”.

Having seen Clark on numerous occasions in the last decade, to watch him and his new band at History was to see an artist at a new fully formed point on their creative journey. While certainly rooted in the blues, particularly in his solos and back catalogue, the JPEG RAW tour sees Clark demonstrating his ability to deliver an equal level of conviction and integrity to funk, R&B, and pop. Between his own virtuosity as a guitarist and singer, in conjunction with the use of extended and seemingly improvised solos, and a top tier band that can ebb and flow with ease as they maintain pace with their leader, this was more reminiscent of watching Prince than it was that of a blues show – a comparison I do not make lightly. Further evidence of this is the closing song “Funk Witch U”, not “Bright Lights”, or “Grinder”- the latter of which didn’t even make the set.  In this, there was a commitment to demonstrating a greatly level of versatility, something that was previously much more sublime, now overtly demonstrating Clark’s prowess beyond the blues.  In this sense, as heard on JPEG RAW, Clark has ushered in a new era of his artistry, one which seeks to revolutionize the blues for the modern era through a rich range of influences, further demonstrating Clark as one of the most incredible creative voices of our time.

Gary Clark Jr. Links

Abraham Alexander Links

Main Photo Credit: Dwayne Lau

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