Bill Copeland
Booty Vortex made their first performance at Acton Jazz Café; kept the crowd dancing all night
Booty Vortex is simply a high energy dance band. There is nothing on the level of high achieving artistic endeavors. Booty Vortex only want you to have some fun, and they provide the soundtrack. A review can’t really consider this band on the finer points of art. You have to rate this band using your feet, as in how often they got you on them to move them. That is where Booty Vortex showed themselves to be groove kings and queens.
The Blue Gils featuring Satch Romano rocked the Next Page Cafe in Weymouth Mass last Saturday night
The Blue Gils hit the stage at Next Page Cafe last Saturday night and played nothing but solid, driving blues. Slow boil blues and uptempo songs with blistering guitar notes were the order of the evening.
The Blue Gils nailed a perfect rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Texas Flood,” with Gil Correia taking his sweet time unfolding the quiet storm of this number. His heavy chord action and his blistering phrase gave this tune an invincible might, tackling rhythms and leads, back and forth, like a sports car swiftly changing gears.
Bob Margolin rocked the house at Hajjar’s in Weymouth last week; too many guests spoiled the soup
Bob Margolin rocked the house at Hajjar’s in Weymouth last week; too many guests spoiled the soupIt might be a good idea to invite a lot of big name talent to a blues jam. They get to share the stage with many different players. But during a three hour show, it can be a disorganized mess to have too many people on the list. A three hour gig cannot accommodate as many players as a jam or a festival. I hope this lesson was learned by the hosts of last weekend’s Bob Margolin show at The T-Room at Hajjar’s restaurant in Weymouth.
Moral Dilemma slams the hard rock hits home at Turtle Pond Tavern in Palmer, Mass
Moral Dilemma will come at people from out of the blue. Their western Massachusetts music scene often seems isolated from the greater-Boston cover band circuit Yet, this band will likely get out of their local trappings soon. They offer a wide array of edgy, aggressive music that can appeal to hard rock fans from the 1960s to the present day. And, by the way, they’re very good with their genre of music.
Squish Mitten rocks right out, but they’re still a work in progress
Squish Mitten just might be the funniest sounding name ever for a rock band. Or, are they a blues band? Or, maybe a little bit of a jam band? That’s the thing about Squish Mitten. It is hard to pigeon hole them into any one category. These four musicians are top notch at what they do, and they do much of it with seriousness and purpose.
Sunny And Her Joy Boys brought Fall River audience back in time with female vocalists from great American Songbook
Sunny and her Joy Boys took the stage at Narrows Center for the Arts last night, March 20, and they put on an engagingly good show, performing jazz standards originally recorded by female singers in the 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘40s.
Delta Generators rock the Acton Jazz Cafe again
The Delta Generators are in regular rotation at The Acton Jazz Cafe, and that upscale venue was wise to bring them back after their successful gig there last April. Last night’s gig on February 6 found Delta Generators rocking the house with pulse pounding, driving, beat-driven down and dirty modern takes on the Mississippi Delta blues idioms. If Cream took the blues and made them rock, then Delta Generators took them back and made them bluesy again.
The Elle Gallo Band rocked The Grog in Newburyport, Massachusetts last night
The Elle Gallo Band can best be described as a rocked up funk band. The four piece play a lot of classic rock in a funky style and they speed up a lot of R&B classics.
Gallo started her second set by sitting on a male patron’s lap and singing happy birthday to him. There is nothing like a lead singer who makes a bold first impression. The band launched into her original “Sweet Addiction” and she and her band mates had the groove going on right away This band wastes no times pulling people onto the dance floor. Gallo found the right space to launch her svelte voice.
Dirty 3rds put on a good show last night at Village Square pub in Hampstead, New Hampshire
The Dirty Thirds are one of the tightest cover bands around. They are also one of the most entertaining. Playing at the Village Square in Hampstead, New Hampshire last night, this four piece put on an action packed show.
