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ACL scene report: Black Joe Lewis
In another fest story of “local boys done good,” young Black Joe Lewis and his Honeybears took the stage at 4 p.m. on the Austin Ventures venue, naturally. The crew of college-aged boys, and the 20-something Lewis seemed excited to be playing their first-ever ACL Fest, even if it was in the heat of the day.
Lewis was dressed, as is his wont, in all black, while his bandmates were decked out in white dress shirts, some with ties. Lewis may not count his band off the way James Brown does, but he is nonetheless a consummate leader, as his guys seem to feed off and supplement his energy. The Honeybears are a lovable lot, but they don’t quite have the chops to pull off the vintage R&B/soul sound for which they are familiar. Maybe it is just their age, but there is some cognitive dissonance in watching young cats play the music that a generation of older musicians first brought onto the scene in the 50s and 60s.
That is not to begrudge the band. They have tons of energy, a joy in their playing, both individually and collectively. Between their collective soul clapping, the call and response between Lewis and the rest of the band, and the sometimes-synchronized dance moves, there is no doubting their passion for the music.
That passion is best translated in the incredible singing voice of Lewis, who, while too young to get away singing about some woman who may have done him wrong — at this age he only has to deal with women throwing themselves at him — still pulls off the soulful swagger and commitment of a much older artist.
The afternoon set had people bobbing and nodding more than breaking loose into a full-on dance scene, but it was obvious from their whooping and clapping that the large audience enjoyed what the young local turks brought to the set.
The band has rocketed to quite a bit of local acclaim over the past year or so, and this will undoubtedly not be their last show at Zilker Park. I look forward to continuing to watch the young band mature.
Photo: Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
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Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: ACL 2008: Saturday, ACL Festival
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By Gus
September 29, 2008 12:33 AM | Link to this
Black Joe Lewis is the ONLY guy doing what he does in the whole state imo. Not many male soul shouters anywhere. Joe is the real thing. I’m surprised a couple of smart guys haven’t whisked Joe away to NYC or Paris and made a star out of him. I bet in time it happens.