Eric Sardinas/Big Motor wsg The Hatchetmen @ Callahan's (Motor City)

Scarfed up some last minute tix yesterday afternoon and headed down to Callahan's for a show last night.  Didn't really know what to expect, as both artists were new to me.

The Hatchetmen http://www.hatchetmen.net opened with a 45 minute set of original tunes, reminiscent of a 70's, hard-drivin', classic rock garage band.  A standard, 3 pc combo.   Lead vocalist reminded me of Neil Young, stylistically, although his guitar playing was a bit more accomplished.  Rhythm on the verses, lead through the breaks that broke out considerably.   At times i thought Joe Satriani might be in the house.   All in all, a good local band with local flavored material that entertained.

Eric http://www.ericsardinas.com followed with a 2 hour plus onslaught of artistic energy that racheted up both the volume and talent considerably.  At times I thought the mix was a little too lead heavy, as the bass/drums were sometimes difficult to pick out.   

A master of the slide, his Delta Blues licks were both stock and wildly improvisational at the same time.  Acoustic (unamplified), mic'ed, electrified and distorted - he covered the full range of the instrument's capacity to make music.   At times, however, he seemed to lack a clear direction from a style perspective, taking a single song all over the style board from start to finish.   I would have preferred, I think, to attach one style to one song and stick with it.  But, he clearly is an amazingly talented artist and plays a lot more gigs than i do!   lol   Eric has a voice tailor made for the Blues.  A natural, unforced "soul" lacking in most Caucasians.  Just sayin.

My initial impression of his performance was that for the first 20 minutes or so he might have been trying a little too hard to impress with his chops.   Once he let the music speak for itself, the audience responded more spontaneously with cheers and clap-alongs.  He absolutely nailed the Robert Johnson cover, "Hell-Hound on My Trail", as he did his own tribute to SRV on the eve of his fatal anniversary.   

I'm really not familiar enough with his catalog to report a set list, sorry to say.  I can say that it was high energy, and featured all of his musicians at regular intervals, including some very creative/unique work on the bass.   I really did enjoy the show, however, and would have to say that it might have been about the best 12 bucks I ever spent.   There's really no substitute for intimate venues, especially when it comes to name, upper-tier talent.  He stuck around the stage after, signing/greeting whomever.   He's played here before, and seemed more than willing to come back again soon.

Catch him if you can.