The Natural History Museum’s last of their First Fridays of the year went out with a bang with headliner Hanni El Khatib. Khatib, who recently released his 3rd studio album entitled Moonlight showed off his unusual and darkly talented self. He opened with the title track from his new album and then carried on with a set very evenly mixed with tracks from all three of his albums. Fans were most responsive to his older numbers and cheered loudly as he let out his signature garage blues grind. “You Rascal You” from 2011’s Will The Guns Come Out included an extended solo exemplifying Khatib’s skill for making his guitar snarl. There is certainly a Black Keys influence there, and not only because Dan Auerbach recorded Khatib’s 2nd album Head In The Dirt, but because both artists come from a similar ilk – loose blues grooves on the fringe of being more than simply derivative. Khatib closed the night with “Two Brothers” from Moonlight which included a bit of crowd-surfing, giving his fans one last thing to latch on to. Literally.

Shot by me for RESTLESS CITIES