The peak of last Wednesday’s show at the Bowery Ballroom came in the middle of the lineup when TK Webb and the Visions took the stage. Headlining were the Swedish doom metal band Witchcraft. Sounds like Spinal-Tap-meets-Zeppelin in a totally non-ironic kind of way. I realized that my capacity for appreciating Witchcraft was severely limited around the time frontman Magnus Pelander licked his fretboard and not one person in the audience cracked a smile. That Witchcraft and Webb both feature musicians who play with aggressive precision despite yards of lustrous hair obscuring their faces (see photos) seems to be their common thread.

On his solo albums KCK (2005) and Phantom Parade (2006), the Missouri-born Webb established himself as an authoritative new interpreter of Delta blues and southern folk music. But in 2007, he brought together the Visions and recorded Ancestor, released this year, which marked a significant departure from acoustic guitars and harmonicas into a louder, more ambitious territory.

Because I am a big fan of KCK, I didn’t quite know what to expect from this new incarnation. But TK Webb and the Visions took me pleasantly by surprise—and not just because of that gorgeous hair whipping around. While I’d been expecting at least the appearance of an acoustic guitar and a few crusty old hired guns filling out the band, the belligerent guitars definitely appealed to the part of me that prefers loud, classic rock above all else.

No longer evoking a smoke-filled Mississippi barroom, Webb and the Visions now sound like a bourbon-soaked version of everything that is best about the ‘70s: heavy guitars (Gibsons, all), thrashing drums and growling vocals. Webb’s grizzled voice that belies his 31 years and the occasional harmonica recall his solo work. But the confidence and authenticity of the entire band show that this transformation has not been so much a departure as an evolution toward a bigger, grittier sound. A sound that, heard live, brings to mind not hard times and lost loves, but the exhilaration of hearing your own inarticulate angst set loudly to music.

Above slideshow created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Visit TK Webb and the Visions on MySpace.