Gary Clark Jr.-Live@ The Enmore 18 April 2019

Gary Clark Jr Supported By Hamish Anderson

It had been 6 ½ years since I last laid eyes on Gary Clark Jr. in person. That was, believe it or not, at The Annandale Hotel. That was one ground-shaking showcase of his talents and to say he blew the roof of the venue would be an understatement.

Tonight at The Enmore he played to a room that was very ready to hear some of his fabulous guitar playing. We were not disappointed. Clark Jr. kicked the night off with a steaming hot “Bright Lights” and stayed with the early songs off Blak and Blu with “Ain’t Messin’ Round” and “What About Us”. From that moment on he had the gathering in the palm of his hand as he delved into funk, rock and blues to keep everyone happy.

Throw in a cover of Jimmy Reed’s “Shame, Shame, Shame” and Albert Collin’s “If Trouble Was Money” he tipped his hat to the gods that drew him to this music in the first place.

Tonight’s set list focused on his latest release This Land. The album is not a guitar shredding masterpiece but his playing fits the politically charged songs with power. Tonight he extended them live and there were many solos that just left you in awe of his ability.

Clark Jr’s albums have strayed away from hard blues but tonight he proved that his roots are firmly planted in that genre. With a 20-song set list, it was an excellent performance that would inspire most to never miss one of his gigs again. Throw in some B.B. King into the encore and Clark Jr. was killing it along with his very tight band.

Australian guitarist Hamish Anderson supported Clark and joined him on “Don’t Owe You A Thang” and Anderson played some brilliant solos of his own. I don’t think it is very often you have Gary Clark Jr. ending his gig with a tambourine in hand grooving to a stand-in guitarist. You could feel the joy and love coming from the stage as Anderson wailed away.