Show Review - Neal Francis 11/23/24 Detroit, MI
THE WHAMMY CLAV
If you haven’t been listening to Neal Francis, I’m not sure what to tell you – except that you should start now. One of the hottest still-emerging artists on the scene, his blend of classic rock 70s vibes mixed with contemporary influences, infectious energy, and tight musicality make for an incredibly enjoyable listen and electric live show.
With a relatively sparse touring year in 2024, I had been unable to catch Francis and his band until last night, marking what will hopefully be the only time I go over a year without seeing him live. The quartet took over the intimate and underground Shelter for a raging Saturday night performance accompanied by opening act Smushie.
Francis has a knack for picking amazing acts to get things going, and I was blown away at the eclectic blend of sounds the quintet put forth from the stage – elements of everything from Talking Heads and Velvet Underground to ABBA, a touch of wry humour, and excellent vibes. Frontman Austin Koenigstein (“Smushie” himself) bounced around with an endless supply of energy and stage presence through each song, but the real musical star here was bassist Augustus Martini, whose incredibly complex and busy playing called to mind Phil Lesh in his lack of reliance on simple pocket and grooves. I highly recommend seeing this band if you can – they’re opening for Francis again in Chicago on December 13th.
Now for the main event – there are few rhythm sections in the game tighter than Francis’ backbone of drummer Collin O’Brien and bassist Mike Starr. With 2024’s revamped stage setup putting the keyboards as the focal point midstage, the two musicians are off to the left next to each other and could frequently be seen grinning at one another as they unleashed rock-solid groove after rock-solid groove.
The set opened with unreleased original “Already Gone,” relative newcomer guitarist Andy Gabbard stepping out with some clean riffs over Francis’ washes of phaser-drenched CP70 piano before the band lit into the upbeat and catchy “Problems.”
One of my favourites came next in “How Have I Lived,” which featured some extra-funky clav breakdowns from Francis on clav as he seemed to extend each little pocket of improvisation a little bit more than normal. This isn’t a jam band, per se – but this is definitely a quartet adept at improvisation.
“What’s Left Of Me” – described as Francis as an ode to the bankruptcy of Red Lobster – led into one of the two true bigger pockets of jam for the night within “Prometheus.” As O’Brien opened up the space on ride cymbal, Francis unleashed pulsating waves of Korg MS-20 synthesizer among sparkling runs up and down his piano. The moody jam was also accentuated by excellent drum fills throughout as Starr held down the low end.
Recently released single “Back It Up” brought the energy to a Saturday night party-funk space that inspired an extra-long intro to “Need You Again,” Francis once again shining on some thick clav chords.
The always-classic (at least to me) trio of “Say Your Prayers” > “Changes” > “She’s A Winner” kept the amazing flow of the set going with two absolutely blistering whammy clav solos from Francis. “Winner” eschewed its normal fast-paced outro jam in favour of what the band listed on the setlist as “I’m Bad Outro,” a filthy breakdown that led to an excellent segue into a cover of ZZ Top’s “Cheap Sunglasses.”
The run of segues continued as the band executed a perfect drop into “Very Fine,” Francis putting his endless supply of catchy musical and lyrical hooks on display before the second big jam of the night came in “Sentimental Garbage.”
After the conclusion of the song proper, O’Brien used some haunting and screechy tones on his ride cymbal to kick off the improvisation while Francis dove headlong back into synth-world. Some bright organ tones came in underneath as O’Brien proceeded to absolutely demolish his kit, prompting Francis to call him out with a huge grin mid-song. Teetering on the edge of going full Type II, the band reined things back in and brought the set to a fiery conclusion with the catchy “Can’t Stop The Rain.”
An encore of “Broken Glass” and a raucous “150 More Times” sent the Motor City crowd home happy – I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to see a Neal Francis show and not have an excellent experience. From his incredible musicality to each and every earworm lyric and riff, you’re going to leave humming songs with an eagerness to see him again as soon as possible.
Francis closes out the year with two special hometown shows at Chicago’s Thalia Hall on December 13th and 14th before a New Year’s Eve bash in San Francisco – but there’s a lot to come for him in 2025 as he continues to explore old songs and debut new material along the way. As always, I eagerly look forward to my next opportunity to see this amazing band live and can’t wait for their upward trajectory to continue – this band is not going to be playing small clubs for long, so enjoy the intimate experiences while you can!