For a variety of reasons, this was very much a last-minute decision to go to this show, having only heard about it earlier this week. Had I known earlier The BellRays were going to be in town I’d have bought a ticket far sooner, but sometimes it’s nice to get a wee surprise that another opportunity has arisen to catch a band you’ve loved for a couple of decades.
First up were the two local support bands. Soul Circus* were the first to take the stage at King Tuts whilst a good portion of the crowd were still coming in, but the room kept filling up throughout their set. During the course of their show, I enjoyed how well the bass and drums locked in in terms of groove, but also the musical and melodic interplay between the bass and the lead guitar. Between the three of them, this provided a foundation for songs that, to me, straddled indie rock/classic rock with vocals that were soulful and bluesy, yet sometimes with an an an an anthemic edge that lifted the crowd who gave the band a damn fine reception at the end.
Midnight Special presented more of a straightforward classic/blues rock sound, underlined by the fact that they played two covers in the form of “Brown Sugar” by the Rolling Stones and “Feel Like Making Love” by Free. Both songs sat well within the wider set of originals and benchmarked the overall sound of the band. Neither of those covers, nor the musical genre as a whole, can be carried without significant vocal talent and this was provided in good measure, along with accomplished lead guitar work to complement the driving rhythm section.
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The minute that The BellRays‘ vocalist Lisa Kekaula projects her first notes, you are reminded that you are in the presence of greatness. In King Tuts. In Glasgow. On a dreich Wednesday night in October. A couple of songs in, she exhorts, “We are The BellRays and we play Punk, Rock and Soul… but hey, it’s all just Rock & Roll”. This, in many ways, may summarise The BellRays but also understates just how well they carry that off and how well they forge that range of influences into a coherent and masterful whole. Vocally, Lisa is like a cross between Aretha Franklin and Bon Scott. As well as being a powerhouse vocally, she matches this as a frontwoman, exhorting the crowd for more volume throughout the show, “Is this a Rock show?? IS THIS A ROCK SHOW” and at one point making her way through the whole crowd, urging a response from what at this point was a sea of smiling faces.
The only real departure from the high energy, driving Punk, Rock and Soul was a cover version of “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. This was emotive, spine-tingling and carried off to perfection not just by Lisa but by the band as a whole, whose playing contrasted subtlety and nuance with timing and power.
The first time I saw The BellRays was in 2002 at King Tuts. It feels like a real privilege to be able to still catch them live in the same venue 24 years later. However, it also speaks to a music industry where real talent can fly beneath a radar that seems deliberately restricted to a bandwidth of mediocrity. Whatever, here’s to still being able to witness The BellRays in years to come!
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Pics by Gary Cooper
