Hanni El Khatib- Turner Hall Ballroom, October 2, 2013

Produced by Black Keys guitar god, Dan Auerbach, Hanni El Khatib's latest record, Head in the Dirt has received a fair amount of buzz.  Rightfully so- the album is one of this year's most rocking releases.  Head in the Dirt reminds me of early Black Keys material with short, energetic songs powered by solid guitar hooks, fuzzy chords, and, above all, a tight rock 'n roll sound.  Auerbach's recent work with legendary producer Danger Mouse, probably helps in the pop sensibility of this release as well.  Hands down, if you want a solid blues-rock record, you can't go wrong with Head in the Dirt.

Hanni El Khatib came to town with much hype and promise.  He opened his show in dramatic fashion, coming onto a dark stage and busting into his set full throttle with a powerful, rock raucousness.  His large backdrop of two skeletons  with the HEK initials were illuminated against simple back lighting.  However, after about three songs into the set, Hanni mentioned how the crowd was "surprisingly sparse."  From that point in the set, Hanni seemed to be "checked-out," and played exactly an hour with little crowd interaction and energy.

While there is no doubt that Hanni El Khatib has some major chops musically, an artist can take a small crowd and do one of two things.  1) He/she can engage the crowd in the same fashion as he/she would if the room was full, and by doing so, endear fans to spread the word of "this awesome band" all around the Internet in hopes of gaining a larger crowd next time they're in town.  Or, the artist can do what Hanni did and 2) Play to get your paycheck, with nothing more to offer. Unfortunately, for myself and others who were in attendance thanks to winning local ticket contests, this had less than the desired effect.  Hanni live did not live up to the rock 'n roll promise heard on his album.  As with many rock acts, the setting you see the music in adds to the experience of enjoying the music in communion with fellow rockers.  In retrospect, perhaps a booking at The Cactus Club or Club Garabaldi might have proved a better fit for Hanni El Khatib.  Regardless, rock chops or not, Hanni did little to make the 150 or so fans in attendance want to go out of their way to see him next time he comes to town.  

Grade: C+ (and the + is merely because I like the album so much)