Kris Barras Band - Exeter Review

After nearly three weeks without a gig, it was great to travel up to Exeter yesterday evening to take in some live music. The South West is generally under-served when it comes to live music, but the last seven or eight months has probably been the busiest for gigs in this part of the country that I can remember. Plymouth in particular has been reeling the bands in, with a number of memorable gigs at The Junction taking place last year, but Exeter has also had its share. The reason for yesterday's excursion up the A38 was the Kris Barras Band - a hard rocking four-piece who I have been listening to casually for the past couple of years. Given that Barras is local to the South West (he is from Torquay), I am surprised that it took me so long to start listening to his work. After having it recommended to me by a friend, however, I picked up his band's third studio album Light It Up in 2020 - and instantly enjoyed Barras' harder take on the classic blues rock sound. I enjoyed Light It Up casually for a year or so, but it was seeing the band last year when they opened for Black Stone Cherry (also in Exeter) that really made me take notice. They sounded so much tougher live, and played a number of tracks that I was not familiar with - most of which have recently been released on Barras' fourth album Death Valley Paradise. I later learnt that Barras was shifting away from his bluesy sound to one that was much more modern hard rock in tone. The new songs played on the Black Stone Cherry tour certainly showcased this, and I knew that Barras' new album would be one to look out for. In the meantime I completed my collection of Barras' catalogue, and booked to see his band on the first night of the Death Valley Paradise tour at the Phoenix in Exeter. The show was actually the first of two nights at the venue, with Barras clearly hoping to wow his local fans before heading off around the country. With Death Valley Paradise being released last week, and some of its singles being chosen for radio play, heading off on tour now seems like perfect timing. It is my understanding, too, that this tour is the first run of headline dates that Barras has done with the current incarnation of the Kris Barras Band - which has been retooled to be sleeker, heavier, and more modern sounding than any of its previous iterations.

Given the local connection, the venue was pretty full throughout the night. While the crowd was gathering, however, those who turned up early were treated to a few songs from the Exeter-based blues artist Adam Sweet. Whilst Barras' take on the blues is much rockier, Sweet is very much cut from the traditional blues cloth. It is no secret that the blues has never been my favourite genre of music, but it is something that I have warmed to quite a bit over the years - and a strong blues act is always enjoyable live. I have certainly seen fierier bluesmen than Sweet, but his playing was packed full of feel. He never really rocked out with big riffs and dirty tones, but instead laid down swinging grooves and emotive solos - which were all wrapped up in an aching tone. Songwriting-wise, his music was very typical. I have heard more inventive blues songs, sung by stronger singers, but for me the highlight of Sweet's set was his playing. His songs could certainly be more memorable, but there were plenty of excellent solos throughout his set that impressed. I did not catch the names of the any of the songs, but there was a lengthy ballad that came about two-thirds of the way through the set that dripped with emotion; and a strong cover of Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well spiced things up somewhat and allowed for some harder riffing and chaotic blues shredding. I am never truly going to fall for an artist like Sweet, but I can appreciate the craft of a musician of his calibre - and his soloing was certainly on another level compared to a number of other similar blues artists that I have seen over the years. He received a strong reception from the crowd throughout his set, too, so it sounded like he made himself a few new fans with his performance - which is always good to see.

The evening took something of a unique turn after Sweet's set. Earlier in the day the tour's main support act, Florence Black, had to cancel their appearances at the two Exeter shows due to illness. It was too late to source a new support band for the evening, so Barras decided to play a short acoustic set to fill the gap. This certainly helped to make the evening more memorable - and the crowd was treated to six songs played acoustically by Barras and Josiah Manning (guitar/vocals) before the main event. The acoustic set was made up of three of Barras' older tracks and three covers, all of which were played with real passion - and it really made me realise just how great a singer Barras is. The stripped back nature of the set also allowed for some banter with the crowd, and the acoustic set created a great, laid back vibe which suited the gentle nature of the material played. Heart on Your Sleeve, from Barras' debut album Lucky 13 opened up the set, before excellent renditions of the ballads Propane and Rain were also played. Barras seemed to enjoy singing these older numbers, and he commented that it was good to dust them off again as they were songs that would not fit with the vibe of the heavier electric set. The crowd certainly enjoyed hearing the songs, too, and Rain in particular seemed to go down well. Three fun covers followed the originals, with an emotive version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's Simple Man and a dirty, bluesy take on All Along the Watchtower impressing the crowd. Perhaps the highlight of the acoustic set, however, was a great rendition of Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child O' Mine - for which Barras wheeled out Inglorious' Nathan James. James, of course, totally owned the song vocally, and the song worked really well in a stripped down manner. Barras even pretty much nailed all of Slash's classic solo on an acoustic guitar, which was a lot of fun to see, before James arguably stole the show with his closing vocal gymnastics. It was a fun way to end a surprise acoustic set - and it certainly warmed the crowd up for what was to come. The setlist was:

Heart on Your Sleeve

Propane

Rain

Simple Man [Lynyrd Skynyrd cover]

All Along the Watchtower [Bob Dylan cover]

Sweet Child O' Mine [Guns N' Roses cover w/ Nathan James]

After 25 minutes or so, the lights went down and Barras' band took to the stage. They launched into a big riff, and Barras himself then joined them with the first of the night's many excellent guitar solos. I had assumed that this intro jam would lead into one of their new songs, but they soon started singing the hook of old favourite Hail Mary - which the crowd really lapped up. Hail Mary has traditionally been Barras' closing track, but with a whole new album of anthems to play with it seems that he wants to try something different - but the pulsing heavy blues rocker acted as a great opening cut, and the huge chorus was sung back at Barras loudly each time by the large crowd. This segued nicely into Dead Horses, a great modern rocker and easily my favourite cut from the new album. It is a perfect representation of Barras' modern sound, with the big riffing of him and Manning cutting through the speakers - while the snappy drums of Billy Hammett rang through the venue. The song is packed full of hooks, and the chorus is possibly the best that Barras has written to date. Again, there was lots of singing to be heard - which continued on throughout the muscular oldie Rock 'n' Roll Running Through My Veins. As hinted at by Barras earlier, the set was pretty relentless. There were few ballads and slower songs to be heard, with each track generally rocking pretty hard. The stomping blues rock of Ignite (Light It Up) and the southern metal of Devil You Know saw plenty of headbanging from the crowd, but there was chance to catch a breather thanks to the pandemic-inspired ballad Wake Me When it's Over. Barras' ballads always feel very heartfelt, and this one is no different. As it was one of the few lighter moments in the set, it really stood out too. It allowed Barras to showcase his older bluesy sound a little, and unsurprisingly its guitar solo was another winner.

This gentle moment was short lived, however, as the rollicking Vegas Son was wheeled out next. The track is one of the highlights of Light It Up for me, and the song's chorus in particular seemed to impress the crowd. It was then time for a couple of songs that really showcased the instrumental prowess of those on stage. Up first was the band's incendiary take on the old blues standard Going Down, which was significantly rocked up early on - and descended into guitar firepower towards the end. Barras of course took the lion's share of the soloing, but Manning also took a turn in the spotlight to showcase that he is no slouch either. This vibe continued on throughout Not Fading, too, which featured perhaps the most impressive instrumental section of the night. Barras, Manning, and Kelpie McKenzie (bass guitar/vocals) all traded lead runs and licks - with some of the bass playing on display particularly standing out. This part of the song was a pure explosion of notes, and it was great to see all on stage letting their hair down and really rocking out. By this point, however, the end of the night was approaching. The up-tempo Who Needs Enemies went down well thanks to its hooky chorus, and the pace was slowed down one last time for the poignant Watching Over Me - which Barras sung in tribute to his late father. The song contained one of the evening's most emotive guitar solos too, and Barras also encouraged the crowd to light the venue up with their phones. It was then left to the snappy What You Get and the anthemic single My Parade to close out the main set. The latter in particular was a real highlight, and promises to be Barras' new Hail Mary - as he encouraged a lengthy sing-a-long that the crowd certainly enjoyed. It ended the main set on a high, but Barras and his band were tempted back out for one more - with a powerful version of the older Lovers or Losers bringing one last solo out of Barras' busy fingers. The setlist was:

Hail Mary

Dead Horses

Rock 'n' Roll Running Through My Veins

These Voices

Ignite (Light It Up)

Devil You Know

Wake Me When it's Over

Vegas Son

Going Down [Moloch cover]

Not Fading
Who Needs Enemies

Watching Over Me

What You Get

My Parade

-

Lovers or Losers

I have been really enjoying Death Valley Paradise over the past few days, and seeing a lot of those songs performed live last night in Exeter was a real treat. The selection of older songs played really complemented the new tracks, too, and the current version of the Kris Barras Band really rocked. The bonus acoustic set was also a lot of fun, and it certainly made the first night of Barras' tour a special one. Barras is certainly someone that I will be following more closing going forward, and I can tell that I am going to continue enjoying the new album a lot over the coming weeks.