For those not familiar, the name Gary Clark Jr. might have you thinking it was your mullet clad neighbour with a Commodore who loves a VB or 6. But you’d be wrong. Very wrong. Gary Clark Jr. is one of the finest musicians to come out of the great city of Austin, Texas and Australia is lucky enough to receive a visit from this blues rock wizard during his global tour. Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney are on the cards for Clark before the road takes him to the Byron Bay Blues Fest for the Easter long weekend. Melbourne has been blessed with some unusually warm weather for this time of year and with the brilliant Gary Clark Jr. in town, those temperatures were bound to keep sizzling on. The beautiful Palais Theatre keeps her watchful eye over St Kilda’s foreshore and welcomes music lovers of all kinds, and on this balmy Monday night it was a more mature-aged crowd that walked through her doors to come and get their music fix. A quietly excited crew found their seats and were ready to welcome the support act – Melbourne born and bred talent, Hamish Anderson. Heading out on stage with his drummer and bassist, Anderson wowed the crowd with his set which included his songs ‘Stir Crazy’ and ‘Fire’. With his awesome vocals and ripping guitar skills, it’s easy to see why Hamish Anderson has previously toured with some of the greats including B.B. King and George Thorogood.
A short snack and drink pitstop before we were then shrouded in darkness as Gary Clark Jr. hit the stage with his 7-piece band. Between his smooth duds, swagger and general vibe, this is a guy who just oozes an immense amount of effortless cool. Kicking off with ‘Catfish Blues’ and then ‘Maktub’ from his 2024 album JPEG RAW, this got the groove moving deep inside the bones of those in the presence of his greatness. Clark invited Hamish Anderson back on stage and together they tore through the fast-paced ‘Don’t Owe You A Thang’, showcasing each of their ridiculous talents. Speaking of ridiculous talent, if this is something that you are blessed enough to possess then a killer tight band is what you need to compliment your skills. Gary’s band was next level incredible with each of them having the opportunity to exhibit their individual skill and style throughout the night. Right from the first bar of the first song, other than the man of the hour I also couldn’t take my eyes off drummer JJ Johnson. His beats were beyond superb, and his smooth style was aesthetically pleasing to witness. Funnily enough I kept this thought to myself during the show, and it wasn’t until we were leaving that my friend and I were debriefing, and she said the exact same thing about being besotted with the drummer and his awesome ability. Great minds think alike… or just know kick-arse talent when they see and hear it.
Witnessing an artist like Gary Clark Jr. is an almost holy experience, and the way he makes his guitar sing is something special. His instrument is purely just an extension of his body, an extra limb if you will, and the mind-blowing riffs that emanate from those 6 strings honestly don’t match the smooth, seamless and almost still manner in which his fingers glide over the neck. Adding to his long list of talents, you can throw in his beautiful raspy falsetto which he showcased during ‘Feed The Babies’, and then some harmonica playing to boot for the moving gospel-like track, ‘Church’. ‘Alone Together’ and ‘Our Love’ took things down a notch with a more slower, sexy vibe, and Clark joked after singing the former that he still wants to be Marvin Gaye when he grows up.
As this solid 2-hour set was starting to wrap up, it was time for my personal favourite ‘Bright Lights’ and its grimy guitar sound and cool syncopated feel meant this is one funky track that really got the crowd going. ‘Habits’ was a great finale that was met with a standing ovation as Gary Clark Jr. and his band bid us goodnight, and it was soon clear that we weren’t getting an encore – (which was fine by me because honestly it’s 2025, do we really need a fake goodbye and then a ‘surprise’ reappearance?) With just a dozen songs in his set, it meant that each song was played with meticulous care and gradually built layer by layer until they combusted into a musical cacophony that was a delight on the ears and a deep reach to the soul.
A man of few words between songs, chit chat honestly wasn’t needed because everything that needed to be said was communicated to us by the power of his music and lyrics. Gary Clark Jr. has perfected the genre balancing act with rock, blues, soul, RnB and even jazz having a strong influence on his songs to appeal to all tastes. He can only be described as an absolute master with the raw grit his music exudes, and his insane talents have him right up there with some of the greats in the blues and rock world. In the words of the man himself, “you gonna know my name by the end of the night” because if you haven’t heard of him or his music, you’ll certainly never forget it once you become intoxicated by his sound.
With thanks to Jo Wilson of Maddog Publicity & Live Nation for the media access.
