Spanky and Our Gang

The Aslym Street Spankers were part way into their set when I arrived at the MBNA Stage Saturday afternoon. They had a slightly hokey edge that was fortunately dulled by violinist Sick's heartfelt tune about the suffering of his home town New Orleans.



Bassist P.B. Shane.



Primary joker went to washboard and chicken player Wammo, who also performed a "hick hop" number. He's a well-regarded spoken word artist in his hometown, so it was probably not much of a leap. I'll grant it was kind of funny seeing him use a rubber chicken as a beatbox.



"Play some Skynyrd, boys." At left, Scott Marcus.



The Spankers worked without a PA for their first few years, but as you can see from resonator player Nevada Newman's headpiece, that's no longer the case.



Washboard action!



Their last number was so energetic that Sick's 200-year-old fiddle lost a few tiny bits. He searched for them quite anxiously in the grass in front of the stage, along with a few volunteers from the audience.

• Show reminder: Diplo, Bonde do Role, Cansei de ser Sexy, Jokers of the Scene, Bonjay perform at Zaphod's.

Bluesfest: Day Two

The Asylum Street Spankers got the second day of my Bluesfest off to a raucous start - they had far more songs about beer and sex than I expected; I don't think I've ever seen a rubber chicken used as a musical instrument before, either.



They were followed by Black Merda. Unfortunately it took them a little while to hit their stride. I don't think the audience ever warmed to them - in fact, it was unresponsive to the point of churlishness.





I told myself yesterday I should go and see Otis Taylor perform. I did, and was well-rewarded with a truly kicking show. Here he is with mandolinist Nick Amodeo and his daughter Cassie.



Lead guitarist Craig Hadley.



They were followed by The Deadstring Brothers. They cite Exile on Main Street and Gram Parsons as influences, and that's the case almost to a T.



After that, I went home for pizza, a quick nap, and a cup of tea. I returned to the MBNA Stage to see Jason Collett and Feist ... they probably should have been billed as one act, because the performances were heavily intertwined with everyone from both acts on stage during each other's sets.



Feist accomplice Bryden Baird adds some horn ... you can also see Julian Brown at right.



Feist came on stage to sing and grab the flower from Jason's breast pocket. Later she tried her hand at the drums.



Later still, she put on a stunning set of her own.



Some singalong action from some of her band (drummer Jesse Baird and Julian Brown of Apostle of Hustle) and Paso Mino's Afie Jurvanen.



She also previewed several songs from her next album, so it was a treat all around.