Eric Gales
Infinity Music Hall
Hartford
Nov. 19th, 2023
I’ve been surprised by the lack of pandemic-inspired media over the last couple of years. I expected several television shows, movies and albums that dealt with themes of isolation, mortality and the general craziness of the early 2020s.
Eric Gales has been the first artist I’ve heard explicitly reference the pandemic and its impact on his work. I can’t think of a more appropriate genre of music than the blues to cover that time period, and Gales and his band tapped it to bring a sense of joy and exuberance to a concert Sunday at Infinity Music Hall.
Gales played music off his latest album, Crown, which he wrote during the pandemic. In an interview with Guitar World, he said the album deals with his “struggles with substance abuse, his hopes about a new era of sobriety and unbridled creativity, and his personal reflections on racism.”
The first track off the new album he played was “The Storm,” a song inspired by his personal experiences with racism. As thunder rumbled over the driving percussion and smooth baseline, Gales pointedly asks:
How can you love what I do/ But hate who I am
Somebody give me an answer/ ‘Cause I don’t understand
I wasn’t raised like that/ Wasn’t part of the plan
How can you love what I do/ But hate who I am
The evening continued with a funked-out cover of “Come Together, “before switching back to Gales’ original music. He performed “Put it Back Man” and “Too Close to the Fire,” another song that talks about racism and the violence African Americans face simply for existing.
The song that resonated with me the most was a slowed-down blues song with a gospel feel named “My Own Best Friend.” The chorus especially stayed with me:
I’ve got time on my side/ Time on my hands
I used to be nothin’/ But a shell of a man
I was young, I was foolish/ I could not comprehend
That I needed to become/ My own best friend
Gales’ command of the guitar is virtuosic. Whether he was delicately pulling at each string to tease out the full sound of each note, or bleeding them together into a cacophony to convey the anguish he was expressing, he was in complete control of every sound.
Gales’ style is unique, as he plays the guitar upside down and left – handed, despite being right-handed himself. He credits this style to learning guitar from his older brother, who was left-handed.
When Gales oerfirned, he was a man possessed by the music. Several times when he was singing, he would stop and say, “I gotta play y’all.” And that’s what it felt like: He had to play, and the music erupted from his guitar before he even finished the verse.
Another distinctive aspect of Eric Gales’s performance was that his family was right there on stage with him. His wife, LaDonna Gales, is one of the percussionists for the band. She gave a performance that will have me looking at the tambourine differently from now on.
The real star of the Gales family is Crown, a teacup poodle named after the latest album. He hung out on stage throughout the performance.
Eric Gales and his band gave me the blues last night, but it was a warm feeling of contemplation and appreciation. Last night was his last show of the year, and I’m glad that Hartford got to hear him go out with a bang.
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Max Creek performs at Infinity Music Hall on Nov. 25th.
Jamil returns to his (other) alma mater to take in some artwork.
