For a band that has done well in blues band contests, Soul Alley has done a credible job transforming itself into a respectable R&B outfit. Their new CD should be dropping in a matter of days, and they have a solid gig schedule keeping them busy throughout greater-Boston. Their show last weekend at Stella Blu in Nashua, New Hampshire was another night of good music and good entertainment.
Soul Alley opened with a mellow dinner pace mood, beginning with the Sharon Jones‘s tune “How Long Do I Have To Wait“ . Stoetzel’s voice was marked by sweetness in her soulful rendering of the Jones hit. Eric Vincent’s guitar notes kept whistling by the ear with cool precision. They moved into “Tore Down” and kept it even in breezy blues mode, and you could see that this young band is very accomplished, classy, professional, fitting right in with the upscale bar atmosphere of Stella Blu
“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” and “Tell Me You’re My Guy” showed that Alley has a strong voice for these story songs. The crowed was into the band from the beginning, and more so when she showed the huskier side of her timbre.
Stoetzel wrote and performed her own arrangement of Dolly Parton’s “9 To 5,” turning the country pop song into a slower country blue, voice reaching into the country southern drawl. She belted out the song around its more countryfried sound and it worked to great effect. Guitarist Vincent brought in some vintage country chords and just enough twang for crossover appeal.
Soul Alley’s rhythm section was another high point. Drummer Justin Oliver and bass player Louis Ochoa knew how to get everything right and to sound cool at the same time. This kind of music only works when the rhythm guys can groove and open up the space for the voice and the guitar.
On “Me And Bobby Magee” Stoetzel put her rasp all over this classic, and guitar boy Vincent nailed the country blues lead guitar. Soul Alley rocked right out after their dinner set. They tackled the Ike and Tina Turner arrangement of “Rolling On The River” with Alley’s voice nice and steady going into the uptempo part. Oliver kept a danceable beat on “Superstition” and Vincent kept pealing off the funky guitar riffs. The band moved right into Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” with a lot of synergy between the players.
Soul Alley launched into Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” a clever selection, despite being a song written and recorded in the 1980s. Gabriel’s gem is really a great funk song with roots in the two previous decades. Soul Alley found the funk and they ran with it. On “Had Me Going” she delivered the challenging vocal that required her to belt over a slamming band. She then changed dynamics and breezed through “Son Of A Preacher Man.” But it was on “Hurt So Bad” that she focused on tight ensemble work with the boys. This is where the band showed how they have gelled into a very tight cohesive unit over the last few years. Stoetzel’s range complimented it, but it was a showcase of how the foursome work well together.
Eric Vincent made his guitar sound sort of a like a Hammond organ when the band launched into “Chain Of Fools.” He uses unisons and other techniques to compensate for not having an organ and other instruments, as Soul Alley is a guitar and drums four-piece. Stoetzel oozed the tough rasp and soulfulness to the song over it’s “organ” chords. She accomplished this again on “Punish Me” as well, which she unwound at her own pace.
“What A Man,” “Shaky Ground,” and “Higher Ground” were appropriate crowd pleasers. It was on “Stormy Monday,” though, that you could really see how Soul Alley has become a polished, professional outfit that perfectly matched the upscale atmosphere of Stella Blu. Stoetzel’s vocal phrasing was just perfect on this classic, slow burner. She sounded like a torch singer from an earlier time period and Vincent played some of his finest guitar melodies of the evening, sharp, brittle, and clear.
Soul Alley closed out with Rufus “Tell Me Something Good” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” showing again their penchant for danceable crowd pleasers. The band knows how to have fun on these tunes. It was evening of high energy, upscale performances from each band member.
this post is very usefull thx!