Stevie Wonder was too busy serenading the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to join Gary Clark Jr. for a performance of “What About The Children” at the Hollywood Bowl on an August Wednesday. But even without the legendary singer-songwriter-musician extraordinary, there was no shortage of top-tier talent—or spectacular duets, for that matter—on hand for a night of blues, rock, gospel, soul, and even a little bit of country.
On his own, Gary would’ve been more than sufficient for the price of admission. The 4x Grammy winner from Austin, TX has long been lauded as one of the premier guitarists in the game—be it on a Gibson, Fender, Epiphone, or Ibanez—to the point that his powerfully gritty voice goes underappreciated. Gary, though, gave himself a tough act to follow by enlisting The War and Treaty as his supporting act.
The dynamic, married duo of Tanya Trotter and Michael Trotter Jr., along with their backing band, didn’t just warm up the crowd for Gary. They practically set the Hollywood Bowl ablaze with their soaring vocal interplay.
The War and Treaty made the most of every moment during their 45-minute set. They opened with the bluesy “Mother’s Chile” before leaning further into country with “Are You Ready to Love Me?”. After combining on the balladic “Blank Page”, the Trotters collaborated on a spine-chilling medley that included spot-on renditions of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”, country classic “Tennessee Whiskey”, Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up”, and Otis Redding’s “(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay”. Michael went on to give an impassioned speech about his military service in Iraq as a lead-in to “Hey Pretty Moon”, as the penultimate song of his band’s stint.
As superlative as The War and Treaty were, Gary had little trouble captivating the crowd from the moment he stepped onstage.
Clad in his signature Texas cowboy-meets-Mexican bandolier attire, the 40-year-old pulled early and often from his latest release, 2024’s JPEG RAW. He opened his set the same way as that record: with the North African riffs and rhythms of “Makhtub”. Following a quick diversion back to his early hits with “When My Train Pulls In”, Gary embarked on a three-song run of new material, comprised of “Don’t Start”, “JPEG RAW”, and “This Is Who We Are”.
Gary Clark Jr. — “When My Train Pulls In” — 8/21/24
[Video: Kimi Boylan]
Another triad of fresh material came just two songs later. On the heels of the hard rocking “The Healing” and the tender toned “Things Are Changin’”, he and his band went back to the new album with the jazzy pair of “To The End of the Earth” and “Alone Together” (during which Gary gave up his guitar to make room for a trumpet player to solo), followed by “What About The Children”.
Gary and company continued to tug on strings—hearts and guitars alike—with “Feed The Babies” and “Our Love”. To finish off the night, they burst out with “Bright Lights”, which included a bit of hip-hop help, before hitting the audience with the jam-filled journey of “Habits”.
Gary Clark Jr. — “Our Love” — 8/21/24
[Video: David Skelton]
Along the way, Gary lent his soulful rasp to nearly every word while spinning sonic stories with his guitars. Each solo began with still air between deceptively simple notes. As Gary’s fingers warmed up to the tune in question, he would inevitably find his groove and take off into the stratosphere with his litany of licks.
There were notes of Jimi Hendrix-like psychedelia interpolated with the bluesy brilliance of Stevie Ray Vaughan, all dried out by the relentless Texas sun from under which Gary has made his way. The ultimate result? A virtuoso performance that only further cemented Gary’s status as one of the pre-eminent musicians of his generation, with plenty of room left for his legacy to grow.
As for the more immediate term, Gary will be plenty occupied with plying his trade until late October. He will round out August with two more dates in California before playing select shows around the Midwest and Mountain West to start September. Come late September, Gary will join forces with Eric Clapton for four shows around Brazil ahead of a trek across the U.K. and Europe in October. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates on Clark’s website.
Check out a gallery of images from Gary Clark Jr. and The War and Treaty at Hollywood Bowl courtesy of photographer Josh Martin.
The post Gary Clark Jr., The War And Treaty Treat Hollywood Bowl To A Night Of Blues, Rock, & Gospel [Photos/Videos] appeared first on L4LM.
