The spice of life

You know whenever King Khan or Bloodshot Bill is in town you're in for a good show. Add local rockers The Polymorphines to the bill, and how can you miss? Well, a few people did miss out, but for a Tuesday show on a day with nonstop rain the turnout was pretty good.

The Polymorphines had a bumpy set due to some technical difficulties - that bass would just not stay plugged in - but you know everything doesn't have to go right for their scrappy brand of rock to work. And now, some singalong action!


The Polymorphines at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

Tough-sounding as usual!


The Polymorphines at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

Bloodshot Bill then went on stage for a short, all-request set.


Bloodshot Bill at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

Finally the Tandoori Knights rocked the joint with their tremelo-abusing rockabilly garage, complete with some standup bass courtesy of Nadeem Khan, perhaps best known for his part in Orlando combo Big Jef Special and drums from Josh Johnson, ex-Spinns, and a one-man band himself under the Pinche Gringo name. King Khan and Bloodshot Bill are old pals and obviously work well together; folks may recall them horsing around at a wild Irene's show back in 2006.

Khan and Bloodshot!


Tandoori Knights at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

Nadeem works the crowd!


Tandoori Knights at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

They had some ladies from the audience up on stage to sing along for the encore, which finished with Nadeem Khan jumping into the audience.


Tandoori Knights at Zaphod Beeblebrox, Nov. 29, 2011

A killer show all round.

• Show reminder: Kathryn Calder and Himalayan Bear play the Raw Sugar Cafe; Pretty Little Death Machine, Hunter Walks and The Dead Zone rock The Rainbow.

Bluesfest: Jamie McLean

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band has been a round a while. In fact it started up in 1977, meaning some of its current members were probably in short pants at the time. Jamie McLean is a veteran of the combo, and certainly can't have been out of junior high at the time, unless he's remarkably well-preserved. He's a blues-rocker whose toured with Drive-By Truckers.

Mars attacks! Ben Mars, that is.




Jamie tunes up!



Fellow DDBB vet Big Sam (also of Treme fame) horns in.



Brian Griffin mans the drums.



Jamie sings!



Run around!



The whole lot!



N'Awlins action!



Everybody bend!



Extra Mars!



Sam's a bit of a ham.



Rhythm section action!



More guitar!



The whole lot again (minus Big Sam, off to prep for his own band's performance on the Subway Stage).



Sweaty action!



Yes, that will do nicely!



Then it was off to see a bit of the hotly tipped Hanah Georgas.

• Show reminder: Tandoori Knights — King Khan and Bloodshot Bill, that is — and The Polymorphines rock Zaphod Beeblebrox; Armortones, Paul "Laffy" Lafreniere and Stereo Tease play The Rainbow; Robert Farrell is at the Elmdale.Prog-folkers Raleigh perform at the Avant-Garde Bar.

Bluesfest: LA-33

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you want bang for your buck at Bluesfest, check out the world music acts. The fact that billy Talent, Tim Robbins and The Tea Party were the other acts on offer made the decision a bit easier for me (not that there's anything wrong with those folks, mind). As for LA-33, they hail from Bogota, Colombia but apparently groove on the Latin sounds of New York circa the 1970s.

Yes, there will be cowbell.



And there's a lot of them!



Brassy action!



Salsa time!



Now that's stage dancing.



And so on!



The band's official lineup numbers 11, and don't even ask me to say who's who.



Kick it!



Getting on down action!



Ragga action!



A lot of good singers in this combo!



Shakin' action!



Guiro action!



The whole lot!



A pretty fine set.

• Show reminder: Ghostface Killah, Flight Distance and O.G. Hindu Kush hip hop to Ritual.

Bluesfest: Girls With Guitars

Anter some of Rev. Peyton and Co's enthusiastic American interpretation, I went over to the Hard Rock stage to see Girls With Guitars. Although the name of the tour annoys me slightly (I thought I might be over-sensitive, but apparently I wasn't the only one who found it goofy), who can't argue with the talent on display. The women in question are Cassie Taylor - seen sharing a stage with dad Otis at previous Bluesfests - Dani Wilde and axewoman Samantha Fish.

When I got there Cassie Taylor was doing some Dusty Springfield on the piano.



Bristol's Wilde leans to the blues-rocking side of the dial.



Cassie is looking very serious!



I like Dani's earrings!



More Cassie!



Girl action!



Who the drummer is, I know not.



Kansas's Samantha Fish gets in the game.



Fender action!



And so on!



Samantha bends!



Samantha sings!



Next stop, the National Bank stage for some LA-33.

• Show reminder: Dancing with Paris, Longshot, End of Crisis, Equalizer, Wolves in Stride, Against All Odds and Among the Many play Club SA; Whiskey Bent, Hellbound, Slumlord and The Mudplots rock the house (David Hasslehouse, that is) at 295 Powell. Beyond Creation perform at The Rainbow; the Elmdale hosts Cornflower Blue and Derek Jones.

Bluesfest: Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

So I went to one washboard-toting combo (that is, Rosie Ledet and The Zydeco Playboys) to another: Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band. Peyton's Bid Damn Band is in fact not as damn big as The Playobys, as it only has three members total, and leans toward old-timey music, as opposed to The Playboys' zydeco. In fact it's just Peyton, his wife Breezy and drummer Aaron Persinger.

The Reverend! And his slide!



His beard is remarkably well behaved.



Breesy and the aforementioned washboard!



Hollerin' action, plus Aaron!



Aaron hits!



Breezy catches some rays.



Extra Aaron!



Percussive action!



Grimacing action!



The whole stompin' lot!



A rambunctious bit of entertainment.

• Show reminder: There's more punkitude at the Kent St. Legion with Striver, Gerbia, Bruce Boris, Shot Nerves and It's Asshole Time; Shahman unleash their new 7-incher with Big Dick and We Fled Cairo at 446 Lisgar. Studebaker John rolls into The Rainbow for part of its 27th anniversary celebrations. First To Three, The Bigmuffs and Live On Brighton rock Mavericks; BA Johnson and Wax Mannequin party it up at Irene's; Rocket Rached and the Fat City 8 salute the might of the Mo at The Elmdale - all for a good cause of course! Mike Dubue is doing something at The Overkill Bar beneath The Mercury Lounge ... I think. Behind Sapphire, The Elwins and Acres of Lions perform at The Avant-Garde Bar.