The Bellrays – Live In Manchester (13/04/2016)

A damp Wednesday night in Manchester does not normally generate much excitement, but tonight The Bellrays are in town so this isn’t just an ordinary rain soaked Wednesday. After  circling the venue in a desperate search for a parking space for what seemed like an eternity I eventually manged to get to Sound Control, which is a small friendly venue tucked away down a narrow side street. Sadly I missed the first band Guts due to the awful traffic and parking in Manchester. However, I arrived in time to catch the second support act Bones Shake, who make a hell of a noise . They emit a primal blues that appears to channel The Fall and The Cramps in equal measure, they are loud, distorted, dirty and captivating and are a band I am left wanting to hear more of.

It’s been five long years since The Bellrays last graced the UK but as they take the stage it’s like they’ve never been away. From the opening of Black Lightning to the final chords they are spellbinding, the band are clearly enjoying themselves and have a genuine on stage chemistry. Lisa Kekaula shimmys and prowls the stage and has absolute authority, as the luckless sound engineer discovered when rebuked over monitor levels. The Bellrays power through crowd pleasing set spanning their 25 year history and introduce a few numbers from their new Covers EP. However, it is on the slower numbers when you apprecite what an incredible voice Lisa Kekaula possesses, she can howl and scream like a caged demon or she can exude the smoothest of soul. The Bellrays seemlessly blend the best music from the past 60 years all powered by Lisa Kekaula‘s incredibly powerful and soulful voice. Behind her Bob Vennum invokes the MC5 and the whole package is underpinned by an incredibly tight backline. As the gig draws to a close Lisa Kekaula informs the audience “it’s been a long time since we’ve been here and it’ll probably be a long time before we come back.” I for one hope that isn’t true. If you can catch them on their current tour you should

Tour Dates and the ltd edition Covers EP are available here.