The first word that comes to mind when I hear Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears mentioned is solid. There was never a lull in their music, which is a rare thing these days at shows. Usually, a band will start off strong, get kind of weak, and finish the set with strength. That was not the case at Sticky Fingerz when Lewis and his Honeybears graced the stage from their native Austin, TX.
I listened to their Myspace page before the show as I’ve become accustomed to do after a couple not so great shows. The three songs it offered were great, and that gave me really high hopes for this show. Let’s just say I was not disappointed in the least. Each song was powerful and kept everyone’s attention. He really is phenomenal in person, which leads me to the point that I almost always say people are better live, but that’s the honest truth. One does not get the true feel for an artist if they don’t see them live. Part of what makes live music so entertaining and dear to me is the way an artist acts on stage and what mannerisms he or she might portray. I’m often times amused at to what personality I can see instead of being left to guess what the person is like in person after only listening to a couple songs.
I can see as how my thoughts may be misconstrued as snooty, but it’s true. I’m just thankful that Little Rock caters to all these great acts. I really am blessed with one of the best music scenes in the general area. I feel lucky that a town of a little under 200,000 can have such a flourishing music scene to this day. I’m now obliged to mention the Towncraft documentary here. If you haven’t seen or heard of it, do yourself a favor and look it up. My only regret after watching it was that I was not born sooner. It explains the music scene in Little Rock from the late 80’s to give or take 2007. Really, it’s a great and everyone who loves live music in town can benefit from seeing it.
Yes, I have a tendency to digress, but I’m going back to Lewis now. He is from Austin and I’m glad he decided to play a gig here. It was such a joy to see the whole band, six members in total, play with such vigor the whole time. Even though the group was large, my attention did not stray from Lewis for very long. He’s got a great bluesy/soul voice that is perfectly compatible with the brass & guitar filled music. The whole group got people dancing up a storm, including this one older man who, for lack of a better word, was jammin’. I saw a lot of happy faces in the crowd, but at around 12:15 I turned around the place had emptied out. Really, what else is there to do on a Friday night in downtown Little Rock? I felt that was kind of rude to Lewis and the rest of the band, but the few people who did stay behind clamored for more when he finished his set 20 or so minutes later. Lewis stuck around to say hi to everyone and was just generally a nice guy, and I was so impressed by how good this band was, I am definitely looking forward to their next appearance in Little Rock.
-L
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