Eric
Gales w/ opening act Craig Erickson
Live
@ The Redstone Room
Jan
26, 2018
Davenport, Iowa
By Phillip Smith; Jan. 27,
2018
The Redstone Room in
Davenport, Iowa was the place to be for guitar aficionados Friday, January 26th
. The
Craig Erickson Band, with John Hall
on bass and Rob Haskell on drums, delivered
a powerful six-song set before The Eric
Gales Band took the stage. The Eric Gales Band consists of Eric on
guitar, Byron Carter on bass, his
wife LaDonna on drums and percussion,
and Nick Hayes on drums.
For a perfect start, Erickson kicked the evening off with
the wonderfully funky “Space Rooster” from the Cosmic Farm album. He delivered one my favorites, “Mojo in
Memphis” in powerhouse fashion and broke out a groovy new track, “Love Land” which rolled right into a fantastic cover of Jimi
Hendrix’s “Hey Baby”. Singer Alicia Strong joined The Craig Erickson Band for the final
two songs, “Mercy” from Sky Train Galaxy,
and “Overtime” off the Roadhouse Stomp
album, ending the set with a room full of smiles and cheers.
Eric Gales was
in top form as he greeted a near-capacity crowd to a couple of killer tracks, “Change
in Me (the Rebirth)” and a sweet cover of Freddy
King’s “Boogie Man” both off his brand new record, Middle of the Road”. I loved
his searing instrumental take on “Don’t Fear the Reaper”. I immensely enjoyed being swept away by the rolling
blues on “Swamp”. That’s such a terrific
song. Gales brought the evening to a close, dishing out an incredible performance
with a “Voodoo Chile / Back in Black” medley. It was absolutely wonderful.
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all photos by Phillip Smith
Craig Erickson Band
Eric Gales Band
all photos by Phillip Smith
