Boston Rock Photos And Stuff
Jingle, jangle, jingle! Eric Salt & The Electric City kicked the Q Division/Concerted Efforts/Moontower Holiday Party into high gear with a boisterous set.
Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents celebrated the release of their crazy good new record with a crazy good release show at the Lizard Lounge. Has there ever been a band that so effortlessly blends girl group R&B, new wave and symphonic pop? Wowzers.
Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents never fail to entertain. Their set at Brighton Music Hall for the Boston Does Boston benefit included holiday numbers, a Township cover* and a bunch of their ’60s-girl-group-meets-’70s-orchestral-pop originals. They’re one of the best live acts in town, nodoubtaboutit.
* Pick up the studio version of the Township cover on Boston Does Boston Vol. 1 & 2.
Watching Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents perform makes me happy. There’s a lot of joy in their music, be it the girl group R&B that launched the band or their more recent adventures in electro-symphonic pop. It all sounds right. It all sounds good. They closed out the Thursday night of TT’s 40th Anniversary week.
Jenny Dee & Several Men Of Mystery
Jenny Dee & Several Men Of Mystery
2013
Three country tunes from Jenny Dee and some of her very talented friends?* Yes, please. Opening track “You Had It All” is a duet with Roy Sludge. I’m pretty sure I knew this one was going to be great before I even heard it.** “Never” has suitably weary and worn backing vocals from Bill Janovitz and Chris Toppin. It’s always a treat when those two team up. Also, I’m a sucker for a weepy lapsteel. The EP closes with Jenny Dee & Several Men Of Mystery tearing it up on “Looking For Clues.” Jenny notes that this song is a reworked tune from her gig with The Downbeat Five. Given the song’s fiery nature, it’s certainly not hard to believe. The band really cuts loose here. Sometimes sad songs can make you happy.
Where to get it:
* Duke Levine, Bill Janovitz, Chris Toppin, Ed Valauskas, Tom Arey, Roy Sludge, Matt Pynn, and Ben Zecker? Good, Lord. Even Eric Salt gets in on the action, playing the tambourine on “Looking For Clues.”
** It is.
There was plenty of heart at Bands For Babs. The bands, raffle donors, the fine folks at Radio and everyone who came out to the shows made sure of that. On Thursday night, Jenny Dee & The Deelinquents brought the soul…
I was really anxious on October 11th, the first day of the Bands For Babs benefit. Having “Never Intended” by Eric Salt & The Electric City stuck in my head all day helped to calm me down. After being upstairs at Radio for The Modifiers and AM Stereo, I bopped down to Moe’s Lounge to catch as much of Eric Salt and his band as I could. Just as I walked into the wood-paneled sanctuary, The Electric City kicked into “Never Intended” and everything was right in the world.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Eric Salt & The Electric City. Eric recently performed at the Bruce Springsteen tribute night with some of these guys, and it reminded me how well they play off each other. Tonight’s return of the full-on Electric City puts the band’s own songs in the well deserved spotlight. I’ve missed this.
Just about a year ago, the Springsteen faithful gathered at TT’s for a tribute show. The thing I remember the most about that night* was Eric Salt blowing everyone away with his version of “She’s The One”. Still one of the best covers I’ve heard. He was playing as part of Jenny Dee & Friends that night, but when they gave him the mic he absolutely stole the show… from everyone.
With that memory burned in my brain I was happy to hear that Eric Salt was taking part in this year’s Springsteen tribute. Eric and his band delivered. I’m going to propose a local club rule wherein every Bruce Springsteen tribute in the Boston area must have Eric Salt and Uke Springsteen on the bill. It’ll be like the “two-week rule”, but nobody will complain.
* Aside from playing with Jonny Pape in a band that would eventually become Paper Snakes, of course.
