Last Night's Show: James Hunter at the Triple Door
I will tell you this: those sounds are more than a little unexpected coming out of someone who looks like he could have been Ricky Gervais' stand-in on The Office.
British soul singer James Hunter has been nominated for a Grammy, he's been big-upped by Van Morrison and he's tricked a gaggle of folks into thinking they're listening to some lost '60s cuts, thanks to his three fantastically vintage-sounding albums. He also just played at the Triple Door in Seattle and I went.
The Triple Door is a great venue for some shows, but probably not for this one. It's more or less a dinner theatre that serves great food from its popular upscale neighbor, Wild Ginger, in a setting that looks ripped from the part in a gangster flick where a boss gets mowed down by a tommy gun in the middle of a Mel Tormé set. While that works fantastically well for weepy piano balladeers or singer-songwriters, it's not so great for an artist like this fella, whose music basically demands listeners get up and wiggle hips. Unless you want to create a fire hazard or knock over someone's $100 bottle of wine, it's generally best to treat the joint like a Footloose-esque no-dancing zone, which was a bummer.
It didn't stop the mostly middle-aged crowd from getting inappropriately drunk and screaming like they just saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, though. They just did it whilst seated is all.
Hunter plays the kind of throwback R&B that's plucked from an era where those two letters actually stood for something identifiable in the music. I still find it surprising that fake vintage soul is not only currently a viable genre, but that there have been several legitimately good entries in the category over the past 18 months. Hunter's latest is among the best of those (likely the best, were it not for our pals at Daptone Records).
He played several songs from that album along with some well-chosen covers. "Think" and "Baby Don't Do It" by the Five Royales, the Lieber and Stoller composition "Down Home Girl," plus a particularly enchanting take on the standard "The Very Thought of You" spiced up a set full of originals that hold up well against all that classic material. It's his genuine love for that classic sound and his six-piece bands' chops that make this music vital and keeps them from just being the world's greatest wedding band.
So, the verdict: see James Hunter if you get a chance, just make sure the club has room to dance.
Here's a video of Hunter performing the aforementioned Royales cover, "Baby Don't Do It," just so's you get a taste:
-- Jeff Reguilon
Karen Ehlers on July 09, 2008 at 08:02 AM
James Hunter quickly became a big favorite of mine. I'm jealous for all of those who have already seen him. I'm hoping he comes to Texas pretty soon.
Such a nice, refreshing change from the crap on American radio.
Ale1719 on July 09, 2008 at 12:52 AM
Okay as if we we weren't convinced already with the recent British invasion..... here comes this man to set it in stone. We get it, the Brits have SOUL!! I personally love it, keep'em coming.