JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound at Mohawk [Show Review]

Image From JC Brooks

JC Brooks live at the Mohawk last week wasn’t exactly anti-climactic, but the dismal attendance, pushed-back start time and multiple “warm up” acts did have the unfortunate effect of depleting the crowd and the energy in the room.

In most respects, the band rewarded the wait with a taut set of awe-inspiring musicianship that compels you to grope for as many synonyms of “tight” as you can conjure. As a front man, Brooks keeps a short slack on the reins, a conductor in the same way James Brown synced his band with machine precision to every pelvic twitch and vocal peak and valley. In both voice and movement, Brooks performs with breathtaking force.

One of the drawbacks of having the show in the inside room came from the constricted stage space which could have easily left Brooks trying to find several iterations of a mime in a box. But his projection capacity was spectacular and in several moments, like on the falsetto roller coaster weed tribute “I Got High”, you’d be forgiven for feeling as if Brooks danced on top of your head.

Other moments from the night didn’t flow so smoothly. Dramatic talky interludes needlessly broke up the rhythm of the set, adding a level of Tony Bennett cheese that’s out of sync in a band that, in other respects, has cool on lock. On “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” Brooks huge, moving, muscular rendition lost some of its power in the middle's chatty transitional stroll - serving to dampen enthusiasm instead of adding detail to the mood. Bookend the song with your personal anecdotes if you must, but talking in the middle has that sad, late-period Lou Reed feel where you cringe because you know “Rock and Roll” will be interrupted mid verse to launch into aging rock star tangents. As Martha Stewart might say, “focus on your salad.”

Of course, this carnival barker interplay fits squarely in the soul tradition, taken straight from the thin line that separates spiritual from sermon. In contrast, the best part of the performance came when you could easily see how JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound do not merely replay iconic soul signifiers, but add something contemporary, spontaneous and intense. “Sister Ray Charles” sounded like a detonation, back lit with a fierce crescendo of martial drums, white noise guitar and a mad scramble of keys. Similarly, “I Can See Everything” and “The Beat of Our Own Drum” foregrounded the percussive stroke in Brooks chemistry with the band, the way they bring hard, jarring rock elements that rattle the room into the mix. Despite Brooks thundering performance, it’s impossible not to wonder how it could have been even bolder in the right room on the right night.