Concert Reviews of Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite

REVIEW: BEN HARPER & CHARLIE MUSSELWHITE – MELBOURNE

Jul 12, 2018 Weblog

Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite
Hamer Hall, July 11, 2018
Review: Garry Chapman Photos: Jason Rosewarne

Ben Harper is no stranger to our shores. Charlie Musselwhite is a regular visitor likewise. This yr they're touring Australia together to promote their latest blues album, No Mercy In This State. They'll play 7 shows, outset with last night'southward Melbourne performance and ending their brief tour at the Sydney Opera Business firm on July 22. You can also take hold of them in Perth, Canberra, Brisbane and at Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay.

Harper and Musselwhite first paired up on 2013'south Go Upwardly! Album. The anthology featured ten new songs, a drove of blues, roots and rocking tunes that earned them a Grammy for All-time Blues Anthology the post-obit year.

No Mercy In This State, their 2nd collaboration, was released in March this year. There are ten more new songs, also in the blues-roots genre, with nods to folk, gospel, country and soul, that showcase Harper's superb songwriting, vocal and instrumental talents and Musselwhite's masterful blues harp playing.

Harper's band from the recording sessions joined them on this tour. They are Jason Mozersky on electrical guitar, Jesse Ingalls on bass (and pianoforte on All That Matters At present), and Jimmy Paxson on drums. The ring played tight bluesy rhythms and the groove they created kept the Hamer Hall audience's toes borer throughout the set.

Just it was Harper's stellar guitar playing and soulful vocals and Musselwhite's deft harmonica artistry that stole the show. Harper played a range of instruments during the evening, and Musselwhite alternated between a selection of harmonicas from his well-travelled silverish instrument case. Harper has crafted the tunes for the pair's two albums to draw on the wealth of Musselwhite's harp playing skills, honed over the years from playing with legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Piddling Walter and John Lee Hooker.

It was merely on The Blues Overtook Me and I'chiliad Going Habitation that Musselwhite provided lead vocals, and he shared vocal duties with Harper on the first song of the encore, No Mercy In This Land. Harper's singing on the other numbers was at times gutsy and raw, at times delicate and sweet, and e'er soulful and charged with emotion. On the ho-hum When Beloved is Not Enough, every bit the band brought the mood in the hall downwards, Harper removed his lid and stood with hands in his pockets at the microphone, closed his eyes and sang from the eye. It was powerful, alive performance at its best.

I Ride At Dawn, from Go Upward!, was a rocking track that gave the band members a groovy opportunity to strut their stuff. At its decision, Harper announced that it was fourth dimension for dedications. "I'll have one," yelled a patron, but Harper smiled and responded, "No, you deserve meliorate!" He then proceeded to dedicate the adjacent vocal to "the next Ex-President of the The states. I can't even say his name!", before launching into the spirited I Don't Believe a Word You Say.

Other numbers that had the feet tapping were I'm In, I'm Out and I'm Gone from Become Up!, (which features a stiff groove reminiscent of the familiar riff from Bowie's Jean Genie), Yer Dejection (a Beatles cover from the White Album) and the rollicking blues of Musselwhite'south Long Legged Adult female.

The final number of the main prepare was When the Levee Breaks, showtime written and performed most ninety years ago past Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy, and more recently featuring in the Led Zeppelin repertoire. Despite its long history, this song's upbeat handling by Harper, Musselwhite and companions made this archetype dejection song sound as contemporary as anything written for the new album. "If it keeps on raining," Harper growled, "levee's gonna break," his menacing vocals eerily connecting the patrons with the fears that had gripped the globe earlier in the week equally the threat of rain hampered rescue efforts in Thailand. It was a stunning functioning, with thundering rhythms behind Musselwhite'south wailing harp, that brought the main set to a close.

"It'southward a privilege to exist back hither," Harper offered as the band returned for the encore. The start song, the championship rails of the new anthology, No Mercy In This State, returned to the political agenda, asking the question so relevant in Trump's America, "Won't you aid me to empathize … Is in that location no mercy in this land?"

For the concluding number, All That Matters At present, Ingalls fix bated his bass and moved to the piano. Harper put down his guitar, removed his hat, and stood at the microphone again, hands in pockets, and sang in a soulful voice, backed by the plaintive strains of Musselwhite's harmonica. The patrons dancing in the aisles returned to their seats every bit the tempo slowed. Harper pushed away the microphone. He stood at the front of the stage, airtight his eyes and sang, raw with emotion, and his voice carried to every corner of the hall. His connection with the audition was undeniable. They stood in unison to applaud the performance of these two giants of blues roots music. It was an evening to think.

Band
Ben Harper – electric guitar, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, pianoforte, vocals
Charlie Musselwhite – harmonica, vocals
Jimmy Paxson – drums
Jason Mozersky – electric guitar
Jesse Ingalls – bass, piano

Setlist
When I Get
Bad Habits
The Blues Overtook Me
Love and Trust
I Ride at Dawn
I Don't Believe a Discussion Y'all Say
I'1000 In, I'one thousand Out and I'grand Gone
Nothing at All
Trust You to Dig My Grave
Found the One
I'm Going Home
Blood Side Out
When Love is Non Plenty
When the Levee Breaks
Encore:
No Mercy in This Land
The Bottle Wins Once more (Blues)
Long Legged Woman
Yer Blues
All That Matters Now