It was an old school R&B, funk night at the Kessler Theater. The irrepressible Bobby Patterson was playing what was billed as his “70th Birthday Party,” which was somewhat unnecessary. Bobby always brings the party with him.
Patterson is a fixture on the blues scene in Dallas. He recorded for some small, independent labels in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and has produced Otis Rush and Fontella Bass, among others. He’s worked as a disc jockey, had songs covered by The Fabulous Thunderbirds (“How Do You Spell Love?”), Jeff Tweedy’s Golden Smog (“She Don’t Have to See You (To See Through You),”and Albert King (“That’s What the Blues Is All About”). A young Stevie Ray Vaughan was once a member of his band.
As befitting a man of his era, Patterson is always decked out in a stylish suit and loves being onstage. Attitudinally, he reminds me of Joe Tex, with his frequent asides and his themes of catting around. Backing both Patterson and The Relatives were Zach Ernst (guitar) and Matt Strimska (drums) from the Austin based funk band Raw Fusion – two superbly talented young musicians. Patterson was fantastic – telling inside jokes (“I recorded this in Muscle Shoals – Percy Sledge was supposed to sing it but he got too drunk”), incorporating disc jockey raps, off color humor, and dancing in the crowd. Patterson plays hard hitting, dance oriented R&B (one of his covers was Johnny Taylor’s “Who’s Making Love”), and strapped on a guitar at the end of the set to unleash a barrage of fiery blues licks. “An old man with young ideas,” Patterson didn’t bring the house down, he set it on fire.
The Relatives first recorded in 1970 and are a gospel/funk unit that plays music reminiscent of “Psychedelic Shack” era Temptations. If that sounds a bit quaint on paper, no less of an authority than Chuck Eddy had their 2013 album The Electric Word in his Top Ten list for last year. The Relatives wear matching suits, do simple choreography reminiscent of the O’Jays or the Pips, and can sing in falsetto voices that make the Bee Gees sound like Nick Cave. The band includes Gean West (bass vocals, age 76) and brother Tommie West (lead soul shouter, age 66), along with percussionist Earnest Tarkington, tenor Tyron Edwards, and Tony Corbitt.
Now that the scorecard is established, here’s the important thing to know. I swear to Beelzebub that these old preachers put on the most OVERWHELMINGLY INTENSE set I have ever experienced. The voices come at you nonstop over the top and while the music has hints of The O’Jays, Stax grooves, Sly and the Family Stone, and the early ‘70s Temptations, the most obvious influence in the live setting was Funkadelic. The rhythmic foundation and psychedelic guitar sounds were a powerful foundation (again, the guys from Raw Fusion were not only excellent musicians, but handled the diverse musical styles seamlessly), but lead singer Tommie West would howl like a banshee in a burn unit, while the other vocalists pushed you like soldiers on a battlefront. It was both exhilarating and exhausting, since there were no lighter moments in the performance, it becomes a bludgeoning at a certain point. They opened with the wonderful “Let Your Light Shine” and there were good moments throughout, but the constant attack mode left me exhausted.
I felt a sense of relief when the show ended. Just like the old days, when I used to attend church.
Bobby Patterson – A
The Relatives – B
