Iconic underground punk-blues rocker Jon Spencer is back and with him is a whole new band of misfits, The HITmakers. Making a stop at Lark Hall in Albany on January 31st, the highly entertaining and outspoken group unleashed an explosive performance that was raucous and loud and hit the Capital Region crowd over the head like a 12-ounce hammer.
First bursting on the scene in the mid-‘80s with bands like Pussy Galore and Boss Hog, Spencer found his biggest commercial success in the 1990’s as front man for The Blues Explosion. A forefather to the bass-free, fuzz-heavy garage rock revival that would spawn acts like White Stipes and The Black Keys, after 2015’s Freedom Tower album, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion would quietly disband when guitarist Judah Bauer became too sick to go on tour.
Now back on the road supporting his latest record, 2022’s Spencer Gets It Lit, his new band, The HITmakers, consists of Sam Coomes (Quasi, Heatmiser) on keyboards and Bob Bert (Pussy Galore, Sonic Youth) on percussion with Andy Zammit on drums. Fans hoping for a “best of the Blues Explosion” type set on this cold Tuesday night in January were shit out of luck. Taking the Lark Hall stage and promptly turning his back to the audience until the opening number “Junk Man” fully kicked in, Spencer and the HITmakers played the intimate venue as if it were an arena. Socking it to them with his signature reverbed-out grunts and growls and blistering blues guitar licks, you couldn’t help but snicker at some of the onstage antics. Even at Spencer’s age (he turns 58 on February 5th), he comes off as more believable than men half his age.
Working their way through songs like “Push Comes to Shove,” “Primary Baby,” and “Beatle Boots,” it was impossible not to take notice of the clanging and banging coming from percussionist Bob Bert. That’s because his unique kit was made entirely of scrap metal, trash cans and an old gas tank. Trading in drumsticks for a screwdriver and some 12-ounce hammers, “the noise, the noise, the noise” from Bert was particularly felt on “The Wilderness.”
Blasting out scuzzy rock anthems like “My Hit Parade,” “Strike 3,” and “Bruise,” keyboard player Sam Coones got way out there, shouting along and adding all kinds of otherworldly synth textures to songs like “Ghost” and “The Worst Facts,” going so far as to tell the crowd that the problem with Albany is that everyone here is too optimistic. “You think you can really do anything you want.”
Tearing through the 75 minute set, “Love Handle” from 2018’s Spencer Sings the Hits got the crowd moving and grooving before one of the most raucous songs of the night, “Get It Right Now,” where in his charismatic preacher’s-like howl, Spencer proclaimed “Mick Jagger ain’t got nothing on me. Daryl Hall, John Oats, Billy Joel, no! Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Zuckerberg…NOTHING ON ME.” A darker theme then emerged with “Death Ray” followed up by “Just Wanna Die” before “Worm Town,” a song which ponders being in “a dirt nap, six feet under,” would bring the set to a close with Spencer simply putting down his guitar and walking off stage. It took a little convincing from the appreciative Lark Hall crowd, but eventually The HITmakers would return for an appropriate encore of “Trash Can.”
One-man band and surf rock guitar playing virtuoso Bloodshot Bill opened the show and dazzled with his unique vocal delivery, catchy hooks and hilarious banter. At one point saying he “felt so good he could do about a million pushups,” but since he still had songs to play, he invited anyone from the audience to come up and do them for him. There was only one taker and he maxed out doing less than 10. For a crowd of less than a hundred on a cold Tuesday in Albany, it was yet another memorable night at Lark Hall. Artsy, offbeat and 100% rock n roll.
Jon Spencer & the Hitmakers – January 31, 2023 | Lark Hall | Albany, NY
Setlist: Junk Man, Push Comes to Shove, Primary Baby, Beetle Boots, My Hit Parade, Strike 3, Wilderness, Ghost, Bruise, The Worst Facts, Love Handle, Get It Right Now, Death Ray, Just Wanna Die, Worm Town
Encore: Trash Can
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