[live review] Power trio: The Holmes Bros. at the MFA
Maybe it was because they were especially
energized by the hefty Boston Community Choir that opened the show, and by the racially
mixed audience they drew. But the Holmes Brothers - the venerable, nearly
unclassifiable roots-music trio from Chistchurch, Virginia - chose to begin
their set in the Remis Auditorium with gospel. Five gospel numbers in fact,
starting with some free-tempo testifying from Wendell Holmes before slipping
into the first chorus of "Amazing Grace." Then it was their peerless three-part
harmonies (a joy throughout the one-hour set), a lyrical, surprise-filled
guitar solo from Wendell, and drummer Popsy Dixon taking a chorus of his own
with what has to be the sweetest gospel falsetto this side of Aaron Neville.
Generally, you could call the Holmeses a blues band, but there was
some biting rockabilly in Wendell's guitar playing, urban soul in brother
Sherman's muscular, nimble electric bass, and rock, jazz, and funk in Popsy's
cross rhythms. "We gonna be rockin' and rollin' in a minute," said Wendell,
settling behind the keyboards, "but right now I got the Holy Ghost."
The
sold-out show was scheduled for the outdoor Calderwood Courtyard, but forecasts
of late thundershowers moved it indoors. Which was a drag - you can't beat the
oasis-like picnic atmosphere of these courtyard shows, of which this was the
first in the summer series. And, with clear skies at 7, it seemed silly to
relocate. Still, the Holmeses, after doing a quick blog broadcast out in the
courtyard steam, were perhaps relieved to play with some AC. Moving from gospel
to the first rock number, Wendell explained the shift in mood: "Jesus turned
water into wine, not wine into water." They kept it rockin' - hard, sweet, and
pretty - including the country-ballad standard "He'll Have To Go" and their own
medium-tempo shuffle "Feed My Soul" (the title track from their latest
Alligator release), then offered a gospel coda. By time the crowd poured out of
Remis's back exit, it was raining. Pouring, in fact.