Wesley Bryant And The Hi-Lites

[clevesoulie]

Saw these dudes last night at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland (this is the place that occasionally has a soul dance party that I attend)...anyhow, they're from Akron (one-time home of Bob Hall...RIP) and this was their first gig in Cleveland. They opened for Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, who were also pretty good.

These guys bill themselves as a Northern soul band, and they can really BLOW!! The lead singer is a really high energy guy...I mean, he sweated right through his f*ck*ng suit! They have the full complement of horns, as well as standard guitar/bass/drums.

Most of their songs were originals, though they threw "We Got More Soul" and did "Can Your Monkey Do the Dog?" as an encore. What really blew my mind was when they said, 'We're gonna play a Northern soul song' and broke out into Eddie Parker's "Love You Baby"...I was probably one of the few people there who knew the song and was naturally ecstatic when they played it. When I spoke to him afterward and told him how much I enjoyed the Eddie Parker tune, his face lit up big time. I also told him that I was the big Northern fan in the room, which made him happy.

I'm hoping these guys get to play other venues in the States...they are definitely worth seeing if anyone gets the chance. They're only the second Northern soul band I've seen since I saw the Inciters 10 years ago in San Jose.

Best,

Mark

[Roburt]

Mark, Have they recorded anything ??

If so, did the guy give you a CD of their tracks (hope so) ?

[clevesoulie]

They mentioned that they have a single coming out...that's about all I know. They didn't have a CD, as they certainly would've had copies for sale.

Best,

Mark

[Roburt]

Any update on this Mark ??

[clevesoulie]

They've released about three singles, one of which (Tell Me b/w their version of Do Whatcha Wanna Do) has gotten some UK spins.

I took a video of them performing Tainted Love at their New Year's Eve gig a couple of years ago, but it's on my previous cell phone, which has a broken LCD, and I have no idea how to retrieve it.

Best, 

Mark

 

[Gold Band]

Nice Video here

Kirsty

Edited April 7, 2016 by Gold Band