Karl S Williams keeping the Soul of Blues alive.
A free show that was actually worth good money to see.
Karl S Williams is a force of nature. An Australian singer/songwriter/musician. It is almost like Karl stepped out of a time machine and graced us with his presence. His look, demeanor and sound are that of a bygone era. Karl’s slender frame, old jeans and boots, cowboy like hat, longhair and bearded appearance makes him look like he belongs playing in an old dusty saloon. Thankfully for me he played in the Backroom in Byron Bay’s famous hotel the Great Northern. An old dusty saloon probably wood have shook to pieces after witnessing what can only be described as roof raising vocals. I feel I witnessed history in the making.
I was lucky enough to talk to Karl before the show and encouraged him on what he was doing with his music. It is great to see this style of soul and blues making a comeback. Karl was very gracious and appreciated my support and the fact that I have followed his career online.
The band was comprised of drums, bass, lead guitar and Karl on Keys and rhythm guitar.
The set was very thorough and well formulated. I would say it leant more to a soul vibe than the blues that I was expecting. But I wasn’t disappointed in that. Karl’s voice is insane. So versatile. So textured and it has that natural old time sound that is very rare. So large is his voice that it felt too big for the room, the sound mix actually had it too high for his dynamics too at the beginning f the set.
One of the girls I was with commented that he sounded too big for the 200 odd people in the smallish room. I concur. In an ideal world and possibly in the future Karl will not look out of place playing large festivals and much larger spaces.
The tight slow soul sound of the first few numbers was not really what I expected but I was happy to see he hadn’t followed the Gary Clark Jnr. like sound that I am sure he can do easily to please the crowd. I like the fact he has stayed true to his roots and what he believes in with giving us enough of a show to make it extremely entertaining.
The sound is very much from an old world, smooth soulful baselines, dynamic solid drumming that was a perfect compliment to make it feel a little more rocky and modern. Understated blues guitar and a mix of blues, soul, country and bluegrass vocals that tell the lyrical stories of a hardened life.
A song that stood out was “White Hotel” I am not sure where it is or really what it was about but I want to go if it even exists. Absolute cracking tune. Another stand out was “Relief from you woman”. I seem to recall it made me feel the pain of heartbreak and the lust for the woman I once knew.
Ian Peres from Wolfmother joined for a couple of songs on keys and fit into the vibe seamlessly. What a treat, the band were awesome although I did feel the guitarist held back a little or didn’t quite have the chops I was hoping for to see support the vocals from hell.
I was glad to see in the last number Karl perform purely singing with no accompaniment, something I had seen him do online but wasn’t sure he would be able to hold a crowd doing it in a set. Not only did he hold the crowd. He crushed the song and had the crowd standing, hooting and shouting in awe of his ability.
The Northern needs little introduction, being a staple of Australian live music for as long as I have been alive. Too many great bands and artists have graced the stage here and the legend of this place lives on.
Cash only at the bar, cold local brew Stone and Wood beer on tap. You can be yourself here, dress how you want and get wild. The crowd is a mix of hipster surfy types, travelers and farming locals. A strange and eclectic mix of interesting looking people.
Karl S Williams at the Northern was too good of a pairing to miss. I felt like I witnessed history and a rising star. Hopefully I will be able to look back on this show and say I saw him live when he played free to 200 people in Byron. Much like I was able to do with Wolf Mother before they became what they did.
I can’t wait for the next chance to see Karl S Williams live I would go again tonight if I could.