The Free Willys' Omar Francis (right), Kieran Murray (second left) and Jerome Tulloch in the groove, with Nadia (seated). - Photos by Mel Cooke
If The Free Willys name is to be taken as the band's metaphor for its music (the 'free' more so than the 'willys'), then it lived up to it in the Friday night concert at Red Bones the Blues Café, on Braemar Avenue, New Kingston.
For although their reggae/rock orientation (they delivered some Radiohead, prompted in part by the audience) was the bedrock of their show, they put in some touch of the blues. And guests Nadia, who went acoustic to start the post-intermission segment (which proved a bit problematic, as guitar and voice did not calm the animated conversations around the bar area) and Subrina Ward contributed significantly to the freedom of musical expression.
A lot of the concert's value lay in the extemporaneous solos, mainly by singer/lead guitarist Omar Francis and keyboard player Jerome Tulloch, with a couple by bassist Kieran Murray and drummer Donald Waugh, which turned every song into an extended voyage into unexpected, but welcome, directions. And although the music was high intensity in many parts, taken as a whole, The Free Willys put on a relaxed show, with a few pauses to work out what was coming next and a quip or two from Francis in-between songs.
It was clear from the get-go that Francis was not going to display a spectacular range and hold breathtaking notes, although he can hold a tune well enough to get the message across. And he did, The Free Willys starting out with Night Nurse and then going '60s rock with Buffalo Springfield's For What It's Worth (known for its refrain "stop children, what's that sound/ everybody look what's going down").
The band's sound was augmented when Francis hooked up his foot pedal, Murray also changing his bass sound to more of a buzz for rock instead of the deep hum of rockers where appropriate. Waugh took the first solo in an instrumental that an audience that grew to a substantial gathering really appreciated and they tuned in to Radiohead before the break.
The Free Willys brought up intermission in dancehall retro form with Michigan and Smiley's Nice Up The Dance. Murray has a classic bassist's scowl and moves around the stage when it is rockers' time, coming up front when the band went into rub-a-dub style to let the rhythm speak for itself. The jolly 'tra-la-la-la' promoter's laugh in the dancehall song was used as a refrain at the end, an approach Francis often took on Friday night.
Nadia, a Briton, restarted the music, but had to battle with her acoustic treatment of her compositions against the chatter of those who apparently were having happy encounters at and around the bar. Still, there were those who were listening to the music and they enjoyed her lyrics as Nadia asked "do you know a place where courage grows on trees?" Turning up the overall volume of the sound helped, Nadia stating "all I can do is this" on her second song, concluding that all we can do is change. She went reggae for her last song, before The Free Willys joined her on The Ladder, the talkers effectively drowned out. And they dedicated Rebel In Disguise to Liz in the audience before their other guest, Subrina, who tipped on her toes as she started Downpresser Man. Subrina's body was as much a part of her performance as her voice, swaying back and then forward again to the microphone stand, dancing on her bare feet in a tight circle around it after she called for 'riddim!' and The Free Willys went dubwise. At the end of the extended version, there was a justified high-five between Subrina and Francis.
And the concert went back to northern climes with Jackson Village as The Gleaner bid Red Bones goodnight.
British guitarist, Nadia