Jake Bugg / Albert Hammond Jr. @ House of Blues, Dallas

I'm not going to lie, I went to this show to see Albert Hammond Jr.  Not afraid to say it.  As a mega-fan of the Strokes, it's not unusual to follow the band's members and their personal endeavors.  That being the case, I have really enjoyed Albert's solo stuff.  So, goes without saying, when I heard he was coming through Dallas, albeit as a supporting act, I jumped on the chance to cover his performance.  But fate, and poor communication, had other plans.

All revved up to go, I was patiently passing the day before I made my way to the House of Blues.  Having check the HOB's website and Twitter account, I read the doors were at 7pm.  So I planned my evening on the notion that the doors were at 7pm and the first of two opening acts would start somewhere around 8pm; pretty standard stuff.  I casually arrived to the venue around 8:40, giving me ample time to stroll into the main room and prepare to shoot AHJ.  To my surprise, Albert and his band were well into their set.  I asked a security guard when did they start and he said 8:20.  What the Hell??  Obviously the first band went on around 7:30, never mentioned by the HOB site or Twitter account.  With that said, I had missed about half of AHJ's set and had no opportunity to shoot photos from the pit; first three songs had passed.  But, I did manage to catch about five songs, so I wasn't in for a total loss.  But needless to say, I was bummed.  AHJ did serve a good helping of precision rock.  By precision, I mean Albert and his band mates were great musicians and did well in performing each song, but not in a 'way too technical', sterile way.  It was also crazy loud.  But the performance the songs justice, keeping the crowd bobbing and dancing with the music.  It was good and I wish I would have caught more.

By time Jake Bugg came on, I had made my way to the photo pit and shed myself of my rather large coat.  From this vantage point, you could tell that his crowd was very eclectic.  There were a good number of younger girls in attendance, but no age group was absent on this night.  And when Mr. Bugg hit the stage, you could see why.  Seemingly shy and overall charming, his youth was present but his music was much more mature and definitely takes on the tone of 60's singer-songwriters.  I think it's pretty safe to say he sticks to no one particular genre.  Most of what he performs is a folk style of rock, nothing too fancy but perfect for his three-piece band.  But during his set, he bounced around from more classic rock and roll numbers to, where I think he particularly shines, performing solo acoustically.  The one song from this night that stands above all was "Broken."  It was simply enthralling and amazing.  And the crowd ate it up.  So did I.  Overall, his set was pretty great.  Despite missing what I came to see, I still walked away having had a good night.  Pictures of the show are below:

Albert Hammond Jr.
 Jake Bugg
 
 enjoy.
Jake Bugg / Albert Hammond Jr. @ House of Blues, Dallas Jake Bugg / Albert Hammond Jr. @ House of Blues, Dallas Reviewed by Scott Rowe, Editor on February 10, 2014 Rating: 5
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