Article and Photos by Michael W. Bright
Louisville, KY – All Them Witches is a polished, expansive power trio out of Nashville currently crossing the country, then hitting Europe and Scandinavia in support of their fifth album, ATW, released last fall. They stopped into Louisville’s Zanzabar, blew off the doors, and left us much better than before they showed up.
Not really a jam band, their hard rock and heavy blues, grows, morphs and spreads forward, organically, turning, twisting from one original expression into the next. While lots of bands might also include a Hendrix cover in their set, ATW’s sharp replication of “Manic Depression” spun a handful of casual observers on their heels and pulled them back into the crowd of the passionate, now packed tightly at the stage’s edge.
This isn’t their first time in the Derby City, or on the cozy stage at Zanzabar, so they’ve certainly developed a loyal local following, thanks also in part to their stops at our annual Forecastle Festival and last year’s Louder Than Life Festival.
Wielding the bass, vocalist Charles Michael Parks Jr. leads the tight threesome through a nonstop stream of original hybrid blues and psychedelic tinged rock. Guitarist Ben McLeod lays back in the shadows, progressively stroking his muted, super-distorted, classic Les Paul, leading ATW through deliberate changes that define their burnished, vintage, archetypal rock. The band’s layout leaves a heavy burden on a drummer, a task that Robby Staebler fulfills with requisite fire, flair, and flourish.
All Them Witches will hit the U.S., Canada, Scandinavia, and Europe in the coming three months. Check http://www.allthemwitches.org/tour for their concert information.
