Review: Sari Schorr, Tunnels

Sari Schorr is in the middle of a tour to promote her new long player A Force of Nature (produced by Mike Vernon, who came out of retirement for the job), said record apparently having sold out at a well-known tax dodging on line emporium in a matter of minutes – clearly said bastion of greed has better tax advisors than music inventory advisors. No support this night but the promise of ninety minutes of modern blues. The set started with her band the Engine Room delivering an up tempo foot tapping funky instrumental that got the crowd grooving from the first beat – band leader and guitar player Innes Sibun peeling off smokin’ solos for fun as the band locked in to an irresistible groove. Schorr herself slinked on stage as the song climaxed and launched straight into the opening number proper Ain’t Got No Money. Wow. By the second chorus it was clear that the night was gonna be pretty damn special.

Schorr has a powerful set of pipes, and she knows how to use ‘em – holding back rather than wailing unnecessarily; capable of crooning but not afraid to let loose and a superb technician, swapping styles in a flash – witness the band’s cover of Where Did You Sleep Last Night; Schorr lived the lyrics, swapping voices to put a new twist on the song presenting it as a dialogue rather than the traditional monologue. With only one recording to build a set around there were other covers by necessity (and tradition: plenty of established artist still pepper their sets with covers and interpretations, hell, Joe Bonamassa did a recent show at the Colston with but one original. Actually even his signature tune Sloe Gin is a cover). I Just Want to Make Love to You was a sweaty sultry version with plenty of on stage writhing driven by a shuddering staccato guitar. Black Betty a cunning reinterpretation with Sibun on double-neck leading a quiet-loud-FUCKING-HEAVY-quiet rendition; but stand out tune was Rock n Roll. Often slaughtered on stage this outfit delivered a snotty aggressive cover, full of piss and vinegar that had the crowd rocking like bastards.

The originals though were no wannabe light weight fillers, Schorr has a way with a tune and the songs more than held their own. Demolition Man a catchy chorus wrapped up in a grinding riff and Kiss Me (especially for bass player Kevin Jefferies) built around a bubbling bass (natch). Allegedly the latter song was written by Schorr’s pitbulls, one of many amusing but slightly surreal comments from the stage. She’s showing real potential as a lyricist too, Damn the Reason a bold non-judgemental song about domestic abuse and Aunt Hazel a powerful tale of addiction, inspired by the travails of her pitbull trainer. Yep, it was the kind of night when pitbulls featured regularly in the banter.

Whilst it’s Schorr’s name on the CD, poster and t-shirt, credit, much credit, has to go to the band. Kevin O’Rourke is a precise drummer – his restrained soulful playing subtle and funky – but powerful too, he relentlessly propelled Rock n Roll like a man possessed. Anders Olinder on keys and ludicrously inappropriate woollen beanie provided lush washes of keys throughout along with plenty of more upfront soloing, duelling with Sibun on a few cuts and leavening the heft of the heavier tunes with softer churchified sounds.

As for Sibun, well, it’s difficult not to reach for “sensational” when describing his performance. Riffs that would scare the shit out of Godzilla; stinging solos; clean country picking and even surf guitar along with a delightful ability to make his guitar go wokka-wokka-wah-wah with enough funk to get James Brown dancing his way out of the grave. He could barely contain himself on stage, jumping around, kicking out and with plenty of forays to the front of the stage thus allowing those of us at the front to see the source of his ability – he has seven fingers. Well, more realistically, he’s an X-Man whose mutation allows him to grow extra digits in the solos. Like the rest of the band, he worked hard throughout, so hard even his knees were sweating by the end of the show.

For all that Schorr and the Engine Room are badged as a blues band, there’s more to their sound than the blues, Stormy Monday was the most traditional sounding of the songs, but the other covers and originals really did stretch the genre. The band are heavy but not metal; they dig out grooves and stretch tunes in to new shapes and clearly enjoy doing so – the enjoyment on stage was apparent from the opening riff to final cymbal splash. In fact the whole gig was filled with humour. After the second song there was an on stage appeal for spare towels (and underwear), the request being met by the gallant offer of a handkerchief from the crowd (but no pants) and plenty of jokes about selling the sweaty artefact on eBay post show. The later delivery of towels led to more jocularity about their minty smell and the perils of an absent tour manager presuming that a bunch of musicians could be trusted to act like grown up.

A post gig chat with Sibun revealed that the band have a hefty work load over the next twelve months and if they can produce a second recording to match the first whilst continuing to deliver high octane shows then they’re surely only a …Later appearance away from crossing over to well-deserved massive acclaim.

All pix by John Morgan