Written by Eddie Ferranti
Releasing stress today seems like a non-stop job when working in the corporate rat race called Houston,Tx. Our main way to squeeze it out of our lives is seeing live music, even if we have to go 60+ miles to do it on a rush hour Friday night.
Having a double slam dunk of the band, Uncle Lucius, and the venue, Dosey Doe Music Cafe, had a hell of a lot to do with it also my friends. No way you can label this 5 piece out of Austin other than fire hot bluesey rock ‘n roll! Dudes filled the DDMC to the SRO brim and lead singer Kevin Galloway came growlin’ out of the gate with a pulverizing “Pocket Full of Misery” !
The sweet acoustics and sound levels showcased the awesome talents of every member of this squad. Galloway stirs the drink here, but delegates well getting out of the way to let madman electric guitar wiz Mike Carpenter mash and Jonny Grossman go haywire on the keys producing an infectious.diverse sound that locks you in and takes you away. Josh Greco’s beyond animated drum work coupled with bottom bad to bone bass of Nigel Frye round out a band that has 4 singers ta boot.
Being Baby Boomer hippeis at heart, we really dig the crescendo 60’s type build up to their songs that make them sound like mini-anthems of the psychedelic variety. Crisp strong delivery of Galloway and the constant stretching of tunes makes their live performance very neato. This was my fourth time seeing these cats and they keep pumping out so many new songs it is hard to recognize them!
Ones I did were “Gone in No Time”, smokin’ “Gulf Coast Gypsies”, stalwart cool hit “Keep Wolves Away”, “Fire on the Rooftop” and “Take Me Away” which they did all night long! Resonating and “hearable” lyrics are another redeeming quality of this band. What a concept huh? Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule, vintage Crazy Horse and even Dire Straits tossed into a blender can maybe give ya an idea of this energetic group in a live setting. In the killer words of the band themselves: “We pride our live show as a sacred and energetic experience, with a belief that this is still the truest form of communication with our fans” Amen to that.
They have a beyond loyal following and are promising a new album in May. The evening jammed so smoothly that I could not believe it was time for thee encore already which consisted of five songs including goosebumpers “Someday Is A Far Cry” and “Liquor Store”. What a boogie jamboree night this was havin’ fun with this hard workin’ and humble band from Austin.
GOT them on our must see list always and have them marked down already on the bill with Ray Wylie Hubbard at the historic Crighton Theater in Conroe 6/6/15………….Suppot live music anywhere it is played!