Robert Connely Farr Live At Green Auto
“We’re gonna take y’all down South,” growls Robert Connely Farr at the outset of his latest offering, and he ain’t lyin’. Live At Green Auto, Farr’s 12th full-length album, delivers on that promise with unflinching conviction, taking listeners straight to the sweaty heart of Delta blues country – and he does so from an East Vancouver dive bar, a place he feels right at home.
Recorded Dec. 6, 2024, following a year of personal grief and sparse performances, this live show captures something special – raw blues that is straight from a tortured Mississippi soul.
Farr, alongside longtime collaborator Jay Bundy Johnson on drums, strips his dirty blues down to its essence in this powerhouse duo setting, proving sometimes less truly is more when it comes to channeling authentic blues spirit.
The Bolton, Mississippi native (who now calls Vancouver home) has been under the direct tutelage of revered elder Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, learning the nuances of the storied Bentonia style blues. That education shows across this blistering 11-track set, where Farr’s guitar work strikes with venomous precision, particularly on standout cuts like the haunting “Hoot Owl Blues” and the rumbling “Mississippi Mud.”
What makes Live At Green Auto so compelling is its immediacy. There’s no studio polish here, just two musicians locked in communion, pushing each other toward transcendence. Johnson’s drumming provides the perfect foil for Farr’s guitar excursions – at times sparse, at others thunderous, always serving the emotional core of each song. The recording captures the room’s energy brilliantly, making you feel like you’re perched on a rickety bar stool, bourbon in hand, nodding along as Farr and Johnson conjure the ghosts of Charley Patton, R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.
Farr’s never been this raw on record. His vocals – always distinctive with their deep, whiskey-cured growl – feel particularly unfiltered here, laid bare against the minimal instrumentation. When he tears into RL Burnside’s “Po Black Mattie,” there’s a possession-like quality to his delivery that sends shivers down your spine. The performance honors the original while Farr places his own stamp on the material.
The album isn’t without moments of levity amid the intensity. The banter before “Cadillac Problems” (“Cadillac problems… we all got ’em!”) and “Gettin’ Tired Of Gettin’ Old” (“Shit, man, I hurt in different places every day”) reveals Farr’s easy charisma and self-deprecating humor. These unguarded moments add warmth, reminding us that even the deepest blues comes from a fully human place.
Farr demonstrates remarkable range across the set. The opening take on Jessie Mae Hemphill’s “Train Train” establishes the hypnotic, trance-like groove that’s a hallmark of the North Mississippi hill country sound, while “Just Jive” (co-written with mentor Holmes) showcases Farr’s ability to honor tradition while pushing it forward. His own compositions stand confidently alongside the classics, particularly “Gettin’ Tired Of Gettin’ Old,” which feels destined to become a staple in his live repertoire.
What’s remarkable about Farr is how he’s absorbed these traditional forms so completely that his originals seamlessly blend with covers of his Mississippi blues heroes. There’s nothing academic about his approach; this isn’t blues preservation so much as blues continuation, a living, breathing extension of a tradition he’s proud to carry on.
Live At Green Auto arrives at a pivotal moment for Farr. Despite the critical acclaim for albums like Pandora Sessions and Shake It, along with his music appearing in shows like Reacher, Snowpiercer and Resident Alien, 2024 proved challenging as he mourned his father’s passing from leukemia. Perhaps that’s why this performance feels so vital – it’s the sound of a man turning personal pain into universal catharsis through the time-honored vehicle of the blues.
For those weary of sanitized, technically proficient but emotionally vacant blues records, Live At Green Auto is the antidote – a reminder that the best blues isn’t about flawless execution but about channeling truth through sound. When Farr sings, you believe every word because you can hear his life in each note. In keeping the trans-stomp blues tradition alive, he doesn’t just preserve it; he proves why it remains essential. This album makes you move your head back and forth, sure, but more importantly, it makes you feel alive.
“Live At Green Auto” is now streaming wherever you get your music. For more info, go to https://www.robertconnelyfarr.com/ or here at BandCamp: https://robertconnelyfarr.bandcamp.com/
Highlights: “Train Train,” “Cadillac Problems,” “Gettin’ Tired Of Gettin’ Old,” “Po Black Mattie”
Enjoy our previous coverage here: REVIEW: Robert Connely Farr “Pandora Sessions”
