A warm amber glow drifts off the stage, the kind that makes Brisbane's The Princess Theatre feel like a blues joint that's been here since the dawn of time.
There's a hum saying everyone's ready for something tasty (19 November) – Eric Gales' first national headliner tour. Gales and his band are also celebrating with us his most recent studio album, 2022's 'Crown', and a special one that's been in the making for awhile, a tribute to his brother Little Jimmy King.
First up however is Dana Gehrman (vocals/ guitar), stepping up with her trio and sliding straight into 'Hands Tied'. I watch as shoulders loosen across the rows as she rolls into it, her rhythm section keeping everything tight and leathery – the sort of pocket making people tilt their heads with that oh-hell-yeah smirk.
We cop a load of '24 Karat Rocker', Gehrman strutting the riff like she's owning the joint, her voice carrying that rowdy confidence only a Brisbane muso can pull off.
Next up is the banger 'Perfect Imperfection', like Dana's wiping dust off the crowd's shoulders. Her tone is all swagger and sunburnt groove, her Telecaster singing in this syrupy haze while the room warms around her.
Dana Gehrman - image © Clea-marie Thorne
By the time she tears into 'So Damn Bad', the crowd's properly locked in – heads bobbing, feet shuffling, everyone vibing without thinking too hard. After giving a shoutout to everyone, they rock us with 'On Your Way Down', before setting into 'Rogue Train (Rattle on By)'.
Boy, it's rattling exactly how it's promising, her guitar snarling like it's had a long day and zero patience left, before Gehrman leaves the stage to a proper whoop.
After a decent intermission, Eric Gales strolls out like he's greeting a bunch of long-lost friends, as the instrumental mayhem kicks into gear. What a welcome.
All warmed up, he's talking to us, telling the room he loves this place, saying it with the heaviness of someone actually meaning it.
The crowd's soaking it in; you can feel everyone softening. He lets us know they pretty much arrived this morning after a 23-hour flight, but they're here to rock with us. He proudly tells us he got nominated for a Grammy last week – beaming, stoked, and absolutely allowed to be.
"Let's see if y'all know the blues. . . I wanna know for me," Gales declares before 'You Don't Know The Blues' as the room is punched with all the feelings. He stretches notes so far they're nearly crying, his voice cracking just enough to make every lyric sting. Cheers erupt at the end, and I swear we're getting an extended version.
Gales then shares he feels in his heart that everyone in Brisbane knows the blues.
Before things get wild, he drops us into 'Put That Back', not taking long for the crowd to start singing along while the band is slapping us with that fat, chewy groove.
Eric Gales - image © Clea-marie Thorne
I swear the instrumental riffage of Rolling Stones' 'Miss You' is added to the rendition. I know I can't be mistaken. My mind could be playing tricks on me, but I also swear Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' intro snuck in there somewhere too.
Gales is talking time travel. Going into the future when coming to Australia, before going back in time when flying home – to a country he believes is really f...ed up at the moment, and a particular person running the show currently doing a lot of the damage.
The negative chat turns positive when Ladonna Gales (his wife and percussionist/drummer elite) brings him water and he gets us to give it up for her. He loves our response, reassuring us he'll be back and back again 'cos they love it here.
We're introduced to rhythm guitarist Trevor McKay (also a certified bad-ass), taking the lead on 'New Beginnings', a vibe clearly gelling with the weed smokers in the room. Funk wah-wahs spring from Trevor's fretboard, Gales joining in, both of them with fingers moving like they've got their own brain – bending, teasing, ripping into phrases like they've got nowhere else to be. We're sure glad they don't.
Eric Gales - image © Clea-marie Thorne
The jams continue rolling out and we're lapping 'em up lick after lick. Gales is again chatting, making himself available after the show to sign his new record 'A Tribute To LJK', dedicated to his late brother Manuel 'Little Jimmy King' Gales. He promises to shake hands and take photos. You can tell he's as genuine as the roar coming back at him.
He reminds us he released his first record in 1991, and sharing the challenges he's faced in his 51 years. The room showers him with more love, voices calling out "We love you Eric!" from all corners. Eyes leaking as the room chants "Eric! Eric! Eric!". He's so touched he has us dropping him three of the loudest "Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!" chants.
Dedicated to his brother, we get 'Worried Man'; it starts with a whisper and a B.B. King-like instrumental intro with a '70s groove that JJ Cale is holding onto. Gales sings away from the mic, voice floating ghostlike over the room, drifting like smoke. No one's breathing too loudly. The band is lifting the intensity like a controlled burn, hitting you right in the chest.
We then visit 'Guitar Man', and I reckon this might be the first time he's playing it live for an Aussie audience. It's a brilliant segue into his open gratitude for us, a crowd that is not yelling out for him to play Hendrix, when he has 21 of his own albums to cover; but he hints we might get a taste later.
Eric Gales - image © Clea-marie Thorne
He's getting us ready to rock out. A dark, heavy groove is letting loose, bass rumbling low enough to shake fillings. Gales is digging in, face screwed up, chasing every note like it's running from him. It soundeed like 'Swamp Thing', but twisted, extended, mutant-funked – and honestly, I'm not caring. I'm throwing my head back, basking in the vibrations, too hooked to stop.
More music swirls before the shoutout to his band arrives – and of course the ridiculous well known medley drops in, executed with the cheeky smirk of a man knowing he's about to melt everyone.
The Hendrix blast of 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' sends the room feral. The 'Back In Black' portion has blokes in faded tees throwing devil horns like it's 1989. It's chaotic, brilliant, absolutely unhinged in the best way.
I'm yanked back to reality with Gales ripping through an intricate finger dance up the fretboard – a shred only a master can execute with such ease. People are still dancing, clapping off-beat, hollering. The band is grinning like idiots, feeding off the chaos.
Eric Gales - image © Clea-marie Thorne
They finish the last note, waving once, walking off – and the fans wait for that promised meet-and-greet, records in hand. The perfect punctuation mark after a night soaked in soul, sweat, storytelling, earnest sharing, and next-level musicianship.
Walking out under The Princess Theatre's adorned roof, punters are buzzing, smiling to themselves, carrying whatever piece of inspiration Gales is promising. And honestly? It feels like more than one person is leaving with their music heart full and their head a little clearer.
I'm not meant to be writing this one up as a review, but hell, I've witnessed one of the best darn blues-rock shows I'm ever going to see. Eric Gales is a living blues legend. To the "first Eric Gales," go get that Grammy, sir.
