So last Saturday, I trekked on down to Stubb’s to check out one fo the dudes I missed at SXSW this year. Henry and the Invisibles impressed me while watching how he compiled songs online so I decided to stroll on down there and check it out myself. Needless to say what I expected and what happened was completely different. The opening bands were decent but the real treat was peering inside Henry’s multiple music personality. I got my money’s worth of funkiness.
I always figured that one man bands were gimmicky but I never realized that I could get funky with one. Upon first listen of Henry & The Invisibles, I figured they were a funky band of at least 4 or 5. So when I researched this party of whatever that will be playing SXSW I discovered that the grouping was a lie. It was just one guy. That’s right, Henry’s Invisibles are a set of Ableton Live loops (I’m guessing) that repeat back and forth while he wrings out the funk from his skunk. Call me surprised.
‘Soul Shaker’ is a great example. I kicked up this jam and wondered how all of the members could stay in sync. Wrong! I mean Tower of Power could keep it up, but I never realized that one dude with a bunch of cables and computer software could do the same. Props to Henry for reals. This one’s going in the pick me up bin for when I need to re-energize the night of another music showcase. Everyone get funky!
[audio:http://146.190.132.255/audio/Henry_+_The_Invisibles-Soul_Shaker.mp3]