Review: Crow Black Chicken, Tunnels

The Blue Horizon are a Weston based trio that took two hours to get to the venue, an admission that got an ironic round of applause from the Bristolians in the crowd – it can take two hours to get through Broadmead as a result of the current transport infrastructure clusterfuck. Unlike Bristol City’s transport policies the blues scene has been particularly vibrant & dynamic over the past few year. The blues rock scene particularly fecund – more bands than you can shake a Stratocaster at in fact – and The Weston boys produced a slightly vexing blues rock set.

Drummer Josh Armitage played with economy and power, driving the tunes but also delivering some flash during the numerous breakdowns. Iain Eccleston’s vocals were smooth yet with an agreeable rasp and his playing fluid on the leads with fine riffing. But bass man Ed Gerlach caught the eye as well as the ear with his constant movement, endlessly inventive bass runs (virtually every song a solo) and ceaselessly mobile facial expressions (surprised, studious, amused, puzzled, all often throughout the same song). During an audience requested cover of Hey Joe (for Kay) Gerlach took the opportunity to take a gargantuan solo, not usually a feature of this much covered tune, lifting it from the usual slavish rote renditions.

The set had opened with originals – Every Last One of Us and Zero Hours a strong opening pair – but closed with a run of covers. Admitting Rory Gallagher was his favourite player Eccleston led the band through I Take What I Want and A Million Miles Away, followed by Hey Joe and John Lee Hooker’s Boom Boom. And therein was the vexation with the set.

The band’s own material was strong, inventive and well played, with intriguing time changes and innovative improvisation lifting the tunes from the normal tropes of the genre. The band locked in to the material and clearly weren’t slaves to the recorded versions, testing each other with crafty subtle changes. But by finishing the set with a swathe of covers they ensured the crowd were left humming familiar tunes instead of the band’s own numbers. The band have the tunes (Justified particularly stood out) and the ability to deliver them, they engaged well with the crowd, but whilst they enjoyed playing the covers and the crowd get a kick from both hearing a faithful cover (I Take What I Want was a delight) or a favourite tune reinvented (Boom Boom was twisted and reshaped inventively) the covers robbed the band of a chance to sell their own wares.

Crow Black Chicken are a hirsute band: in reverse order of beard volume the band are Steven McGrathon, bass (tidy goatee and flowing locks Robert Plant circa ‘73); Gev Barrett behind the kit (substantial full beard and sensible cut a lá Levon Helm) rounded out by guitar slinger and vocalist Christy O’Hanlon (a magnificent growth the length of Billy Gibbon’s set and the volume of Jerry Garcia’s with a luxurious pony tail). But they are more than just a collection of sedulously cultivated beards – they stormed their way through a two hour plus set of set of faultlessly executed mutated delta blues tunes with rock n roll panache and a hefty swagger. And no little sense of humour…

It was three songs in before O’Hanlon addressed the crowd, setting the tone for his pronouncements – initially simply stating “We’re from the deep south…the deep south of Ireland” to giggles before reducing the crowd to helpless guffaws with the first of several surreal monologues. Commenting on the quiet as he re-tuned he suggested he’d expected to hear “…people ordering pints…saying how fat is that singer…commenting on how ginger the band are…asking if the fat singer is their dad… and isn’t he feckin’ old…” all delivered with an accent straight out of Craggy Island. The humour was constant with the band clearly having a blast playing, exchanging jokes and clearly happy simply to be on stage playing.

The band were super tight throughout the set, McGrathon’s playing expressive and expansive, forceful runs and melodic counterpoints leaving O’Hanlon free to solo and riff – short sharp solos in service of the songs and percussive riffs powering the tunes. He was mostly static at the mic, leaving McGrathon prowling the stage, throwing shapes, foot on the monitor and gimlet eyed whilst machining gunning the crowd with his bass. Barrett was an exceedingly solid presence, his beats powerful yet devoid of unnecessary frills, driving the tunes and enhancing the songs with his backing vocals. The combination was fresh and intriguing, their influences on display but not a band in thrall to genre clichés or aping either their predecessors or contemporaries.

As well as musical innovations it’s fair to say their lyrical concerns weren’t typical of the genre either. Pat McManus a heavy tribute to the erstwhile Mama’s Boys alumni and an aggressive rendering of Jonestown commented on cults. Deer Meat Unloaded was the most delightfully bonkers tune though. O’Hanlon’s description of the song’s genesis (“It takes longer to tell the story than play the feckin’ song) encompassing a Spanish tour (“we never realised it was so big…the map fit in our feckin’ pocket”) of mixed fortunes (“we were too ginger for the heat and there was no tea…we were like junkies trying to get a fix of proper tea”) and an unfortunate collision with a massive deer on an epic 15 hour drive to Cherbourg. Priceless tale and a priceless tune.

Although lengthy the set seemed to speed by, the humour enlivening the between song tune-ups and guitar swaps; the eclecticism rewarding too – a gratifying mix of blues and country with even a nod to reggae (was that a chorus of Up Town Top Ranking slotted in?). Yes there were covers, but although encore John the Revelator is much played, CBC managed to whip up a powerfully twisted brooding version that reinvigorated the tune. Snake Farm was low down and dirty whilst Jessie May playful and rockin’.

Crow Black Chicken promised a return in April: if you’re jaded by players trying to be Joe Bonamassa or Stevie Ray Vaughan and bands trying to be Cream or Free, then watch our listings for the date and come and see a genuinely innovative band that will entertain you with their tip top grooves.

All pix John Morgan

Crow Black Chicken: Tunnels, 15th November 2017