Live Review: Gary Clark Jr & The Murlocs

Gary Clark Jr and a senior: this is the witty summation of having extended the evening's plus one to my dad, who provides a combination of the most unforgiving, blatant, yet genuinely insightful criticism one could ask for. Providing that males of similar age, anger and baldness make up at least a third of the Corner Hotel crowd, it also seems like his opinion might, this time, have some merit.

Early on, many of support act The Murlocs' lyrics are unheard and lost in distortion, with profound words exiting the old man in the form of, “Simplicity is also knowing when to leave out stuff that you don't need,” in reference to the bass player's perceived inadequacy, and a less-shared closing sentiment: “they covered the whole musical alphabet from 's' to 't'.”

When the curtains part for Clark Jr, the musician who's already been tagged “the future of Texas blues”, the packed crowd receive him with extraordinary warmth, applying fitting, matey, Australianisms including “go Gaz!” and “we love ya Gazza!” Said Gaz plays much of his 2012 album, Blak And Blu, including the song of the same name, Glitter Ain't Gold and the warm fuzz of Bright Lights.

However, Clark Jr's most striking tracks are his encore solo numbers, songs in which he pays his dues to the eras and artists that feature heavily in the rich blues he churns with ease. The most notable of these is the early 1900s Elizabeth Cotten ditty, Freight Train, played uniquely but still delicately as ever.

Approaching the headliner with less senility and impatience, Dad endures the set with a smile wrapped around his strangely small head from beginning to end, saying with the utmost appreciation at the gig's conclusion, “that was so great, thank you.” Asking him to elaborate given the hilarity and value I'd harnessed from his previous critique, he says Clark Jr and band were particularly, “strong… a group who really knew how to pull it along.” We'd both noticed the lack of between-song-banter and crowd interaction, but happily reduced it to the fact that Clark Jr wasn't required to fill voids with inane banter as his skill level and musical output were simply too good.