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On Saturday, November 4, the Hacienda Brothers play FitzGerald’s in support of their recent album, What’s Wrong With Right (Proper), which was produced by Memphis legend and obvious band hero Dan Penn. In fact, the group covers a couple of Penn classics — the Box Tops gem “Cry Like a Baby” and Percy Sledge’s “It Tears Me Up” — but as hard as they try, this band can’t reach the heights of their inspirations. Lead singer and accordionists Chris Gaffney, a long-time Dave Alvin sideman, is a pretty strong vocalist; when he rips into a ballad like “It Tears Me Up” or the proto-Philly soul classic “Cowboys to Girls” (made famous by the Intruders, who Gaffney had covered on an earlier solo album), the raspiness of his wail reveals more stress than revelation. He fares better on more honky-tonk-oriented stuff, even offering a nice western swing-style croon on a song like “The Last Time.” Coleader Dave Gonzalez, formerly of the Paladins , lays down some nice lead guitar, but he’s often overshadowed by the tasty steel of David Berzansky.
