Date of show: September 14, 2012
Written by: Chiara DiAngelo
We weren’t sure what to expect when we decided to catch Michael Rault at the Rivoli opening for the “desert rock” jams of Tuareg guitarist, Bombino. I’ll admit, it was a slightly bizarre feeling walking in to find the venue near full, primarily with an older audience all seated.
It can be a difficult task to win over a crowd who is really only there for the main event still to come. But Rault was up for the challenge. Despite his eyes giving away his tiredness – having just come into the city from Calgary earlier that day – his performance was anything but. The audience may have remained seated throughout it, but their expressions marked their pure enjoyment of his rough-around-the-edges vintage 50’s rock sound.
While his material off of Ma-Me-O (2010) and latest EP Whirlpool, including “I Don’t Need No Help Getting Down” and “He Don’t Care About You” were seriously grooving, it was his two covers that were really something special. Rault added his own flair to the “gospel-soul” of the Staple Singers’ “Two Wings,” as well as to “Pretty Thing” by Blues-inspired rock and roll legend Bo Diddley. Do I even have to mention that his set ended with some pretty impressive near-splits? I didn’t think so.
We were already fans of Rault’s prior to this show, and our enthusiasm for this young performer has only increased exponentially after this one. Whirlpool is available for free download on his Bandcamp. We can’t stress enough how much we recommend you picking it up – especially for that price!
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