The traditional January blues were swept away when The Black Cat Jook Band and Zander Duffy braved the elements and played for an equally brave audience. The worst/best snow fall in years was a bit of a worry with regard to ticket sales/attendance, but the fantastic Letham Nights audience came out in force on the night.
We were treated to two rip roaring sets from The Black Cat Jook Band, interspersed by Xander Duffy and his quite unique style.
TBCJB returned as headliners after supporting The Black Oil Brothers in May 2009. One Black Oil Brother was heard to say to another “Wow, they are more American than us!!”
Playing songs off their albums and some classic Americana covers they soon warmed up the punters, Move That Thing, Long Tall Mama, Cocaine Habit, C C Rider, Kansas City and Scoop soon had some dancing going on. Doug took on most of the vocal duties, backed by Jan, Dave and Rod
The musicianship was spot on for the flavour of the songs, particularly the “Tea Chest Bass” and mandolin.
After a small break Xander Duffy, all the way from Glenrothes, ambled onto the stage, and played through his set. Some self penned numbers along with a surprising choice of covers were the mainstay of the set, Jungle Mood, Dragons and Forgiveness showed us a fine songwriter was on stage, Lilac Wine, Crazy and Halo showed us a unique voice and guitar style, truly superb. He had a bet on with his wife that he would play the Beyonce song Halo and asked us to log onto his MySpace site to confirm to her that this was played. She had had surgery recently and was unable to attend to see/hear for herself. Gnarles Barkleys Crazy was also superbly rendered.
Another example of the really good talent we have locally, the main act and the support are less than 10 miles from Letham.
TBCJB re-entered the fray notching up the tempo a little, Midnight Steppers, Digging my Potatoes, Winnie the Wailer, Diddy Wah Diddy and Walking Blues as a well deserved encore. There was much dancing and from my short duties on the bar had a chance to gauge the audience’s mood. No worries there, and hearing the applause at the end of each song was all I needed to know. Everyone went home with January firmly put in it’s dreary place.
Once again the Clap and Tipple were on hand to provide a fine selection of the best local beers and some excellent wines. Luvians, we thank you
