I’m happy to report that, while the New Mastersounds are no longer technically “new,” they are still kicking butts at 25 years young, and they are still masters of their sound.
A quarter-century ago, guitarist Eddie Roberts joined forces in Leeds (that’s a city in the U.K., my friends) with drummer Simon Allen, bassist Pete Shand, and keyboardist Bob Birch. Birch was replaced by Joe Tatton in 2007, and Tatton remains in the band to this day. Now, with over a dozen studio albums under their collective belts, the mostly-instrumental jazz-funk quartet is on tour to celebrate their new record, the not-ironically named “Old School.”
On Saturday night at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium, drummer Allen made note of the irony, assuring the audience that the new album’s tracks are “all new songs – but they sound like our old songs.” And that’s a good thing; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Everything about the New Mastersounds (NMS) is, in all the best ways, “old school.” Roberts, the band’s ostensible frontman (if only because he stands front and center), often dresses in Rat Pack sport coats and wide-lapelled button-down shirts. At the Fillmore, he wore a dark suit and tie, and it would be easy to mistake him for a Wall Street banker if not for the cool Flight-of-the-Bumblebee-ish riffs he ripped from his ‘65 Gibson 330 from time to time. Or the way he keeps the beat with his foot on a tambourine.
Tatton keeps the groove flowing with Hammond organ overtones and fluid solos accented by the genre’s obligatory Leslie speaker tremolo. He and Roberts each take a turn out front with solos on nearly every song. Shand and Allen hold ground with time-tested, rock-steady funk beats that are scientifically proven* to maximize dance floor activity. (*Okay, I made that “science” part up, but the proof is in the NMS pudding – or, I should say, the proof is on the dance floor at any NMS show. Prove me wrong.)
On the band’s website, Allen recently reported that on this tour, “We have avoided boring ourselves by playing a mostly completely different set of tunes each night.” He added, “It has been super fun and most of the shows have sold out, which is a first for us.” At the Fillmore, he underscored their current wave of touring success: “We’ve got virtually no merchandise for you because we sold it all to the East Coasters.”
Several songs from “Old School” found their way into the Fillmore setlist, including the show opener “Boogaloo is Dead” (NMS proved that to be a lie). Also from “Old School”: a variety of food-themed titles. Maybe they were famished when they wrote “Breakfast T,” “Do the Sausage Roll,” and “Smoothie”? The crowd ate it up like comfort food and stayed hungry for more.
NMS is primarily an instrumental outfit, but not exclusively. Singer Destani Wolf, a Bay Area native, joined the fray to sing “Your Love is Mine,” a song that appeared on the second NMS album (then sung by Corinne Bailey Rae). A couple of locomotive-themed covers pulled into the NMS station too: Tatton sang Allen Toussaint’s “Last Train” – you know, the one that goes “You got me huffin’ and puffin’ and chuggin’ like a choo choo train.” Lucky Strokes singer Shelby Kemp came on stage for “Long Train Comin’,” the Doobie Brothers classic. Kemp also reminded the audience that the train is not the only way to get out of town – his version of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (“Just hop on the bus, Gus”) had the audience singing along.
Allen was an engaging host, sharing the emcee role with Roberts. Leading into “Yokacoka,” he appealed to the fans, “If you like disco jazz say Yeah!” He asked the lighting tech to turn up the house lights several times so the band could see the audience – and toward the end of the show, when the lights came up upon one of his requests, he joked, “You’re still here?” Returning to the stage for an encore, he quipped, “We didn’t go anywhere, we were just hiding behind that speaker.”
For the final encore song, NMS asked for the audience’s help on the lyric, which (forgive any spelling errors) is roughly “Ba-da ba-da ba-da de ba-da.” Everyone chimed in, even a few of the ushers.
So yeah, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. That’s science. That’s the New Mastersounds.
The opening act was another Roberts project, The Lucky Strokes. Vocalist Shelby Kemp sings a little like the singer from Molly Hatchet, and a little like James Brown. He plays a mean slide guitar too, and he and Roberts had several engaging “duels” throughout the hourlong set. With the Galbraith sisters, Ashley and Taylor, on bass and drums, respectively, there was a definite Led Zeppelin vibe layered on top of the Lucky Strokes southern rock brand. Longtime Roberts crony Chris Spies rounds out the quartet’s sound on tour with keyboard accompaniment.
It would be wrong to talk about the Lucky Strokes as a Roberts side project. Kemp is a powerhouse vocalist, as fun to watch as he is to listen to. His slide work and guitar leads are equally worthy of attention. The Galbraith sisters each get some well-deserved time in the spotlight too; Ashley Galbraith’s bass solo near the end of the set was a big crowd-pleaser. But what glued it all together was the music, mostly songs from their eponymous 2023 debut album. Check out “Sweet Dreams” for their smooth side, an R&B-inspired track with mellow harmonies and trading guitar leads. And don’t miss “Holy Fire,” which starts out reminiscent of “Radar Love” and then harkens Dio’s “Holy Diver.” It’s a balls-out, unapologetic rocker.
Someone in the audience said to me, “Eddie’s found a Robert Plant for his Jimmy Page. And this Robert Plant can play a mean slide guitar!”
Barely over a year old, the Lucky Strokes have a bright future.
