Review and photos by Anita Lande
What do you get when you put two enthusiastic Aussie's on stage playing bagpipes, guitars, and their native didgeridoo's, along with a flashy but hugely talented guitarist who later sits down to play some mean cello, a funky keyboardist that can rap pretty good, and a drummer that also decides to play trumpet in a few tunes? This all adds up to the band Brother.
Going to see Brother perform live will leave you walking out of the club seeing music in an entirely different perspective. I can guarantee you will never see an act quite like this one.Hamish and Angus Richardson, brothers from the land down-under, came over to the states years ago to put together their band. As the core writers, they also split lead vocal duties on the songs. Angus lead off the night with the solid steering song "Death of Me." During many of their songs they use the didgeridoo, which is a long pipe instrument, with a very low bass sound which helps define their unique sound. The harmonies between Hamish and Angus are chilling. Chicago native, and lead guitarist Rick Kurek, lends his voice on one of their strongest songs called "River." It is always fascinating to watch dueling guitar players, but watching a dueling guitar and bagpipes is something altogether an experience to see. Rick and Hamish pull this off quite nicely. The two newest members of the band are drummer T Xiques and the amazing keyboardist, Derek 'Dez' Stewart. With the addition of Dez, Brother's music has taken new life bringing in a fresh, up-to-date techno sound with a groove that had the crowd at Gunther-Murphy's dancing to every song. Brother performed many other originals such as "Fragile, Crazy, and "Funny."
Their loyal fans travel along from city to city to support their favorite band. "Noise In My Head. Online, I Am Naked" is the opening line to a Brothers' crowd favorite song "Crazy." A tradition that started years ago is that during this song, the crowd starts blowing bubbles. Yes, bubbles. So about half way through this song, try to imagine hundreds of bubbles flying in the air. Yes, a little Crazy, don't you think? But all in good fun.
Brother is currently on tour, promoting their new CD, Urban Cave, which is by far the strongest material that the band has written to date. Hamish told me before the show that his new CD "blows him away each time he listens to it."
So, if you are looking for good celtic rock, with bagpipes, didgeridoo, and some funky rap mixed in, try Brother for a night and you will get your fix. You will definitely leave the club with noise in your head, whether you are naked or not.
For more information visit www.BrotherMusic.com
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