mercredi 9 octobre 2013

Willis Earl Beal @ L'Album de la Semaine, Paris Oct 09 2013

Willis Earl Beal @ L'Album de la Semaine, Paris Oct 09 2013
Sometimes you go to a concert expecting a lot and you got, almost, nothing (Babyshambles) and sometimes you go to a concert expecting nothing and you got A LOT !
Tonight it's the latter.

Never heard anything about that guy, Willis Earl Beal, before except that Cat Power sung a song with him and that the guy was homeless at one moment in his life and Oh Yeah... that he was singing soul music.
Didn't know what to expect when 3 black guys ( on drums, bass &guitar/piano ) all dressed up in black and the singer wearing a mask , like Zorro and a fucking cape... What the Fuck !

Strange sound at first with some weird synthesizers and then he started singing, a fucking revelation, this guys has something in his voice and he's playing the part on stage.
Like a young Screaming Jay Hawkins  or a stripped down version of Tom Waits: a big voice with that something that makes the difference.
The music, stripped down as well:in fact only one song can be really considered "soul" all the other songs are swimming in a sea of  lo-fi- blues and soul with just what is needed: a bit of drums a bit of bass and some piano or guitar.

Had a revelation tonight, it's called Willis Earl Beal.

from a previous recording @ Canal+ (2012)



Anna Calvi is also doing a radio show "Live me do" on France Inter tonight