The older I get, the stronger my affection for the blues grows. In particular, I’m talking about the stylings of guitarists like Gary Moore, Johnny Winter, and Rory Gallagher. One such axeman following in the tradition of these deceased legends is Eric Gales. At age 16, Gales signed his first record contract and took the guitar world by storm. His hard rocking spin on the blues earned him widespread acclaim, with some going so far to brand him “the new Jimi Hendrix”. 30 years and a slew of trials and tribulations later, Gales is still rocking harder than ever. He’s the first to admit that it’s nothing short of miraculous he’s alive today, let alone pouring his heart and soul out onstage for two hours like he did this past Saturday at the Piazza in Aurora, Illinois.
At times, Gales’ set felt less like a rock concert and more like a church revival. His playing invokes the most primal of human emotions from both the audience and himself. As Gales shredded his way from one lengthy jam to the next, sweat dripped out of every pore; tears of both sorrow and happiness streamed from his eyes. The crowd responded with thundering cheers that sounded more like battle cries. Some slapped the stage in approval, or threw a twenty dollar bill or two. I’ve seen many standalone guitarists in my lifetime. None command a crowd the way Gales does.
Highlights of his set included “Been So Long”, a progressive funk rocker co-written with hip hop icon Ms. Lauryn Hill, and the soulful “Southpaw Serenade”, the latter of which caused Gales to collapse to the ground, James Brown style. This was no act of rockstar bravado. This was the real deal. He also breezed through faithful renditions of Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla”, Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper”, and most impressive of all, Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”. I can only hope the photos below do a fraction of justice to the energy displayed by Gales and company. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a guitarist or not. If you’re a self respecting rock fan, go catch Gales the next time he plays your town. Salvation has never sounded sweeter.
Great photos!!