The B’Dinas kicked off the party with an exuberant set, bringing with them enough quirkiness to create a light, jubilant mood as the audience filtered in. Each member showed off his/her own individual talents throughout the set, often switching off instruments and lead vocal duties from song to song.
This is a band that rides on the strength of its musical prowess, maintaining an intricate prog rock/blues sound without sounding busy or overwhelming. At times, The B’Dinas boasted impressive four-part vocal harmonies. Toward the end of the set, when Peter Lawless switched over from bass to saxophone and took over lead vocal duties on “That’s Not What She Said,” the group unleashed a musical fury that filled the large room.
With gilded anticipation, The Clementines took to the stage with a confidence and performance that lived up to the quality of their new album. With a bevy of new material, the group played for about an hour to a receptive crowd.
Guest violinist Kristin Chow sat in on a few songs, adding another powerful dynamic to a band that is most noted for the strength and soul of Nicole Springer’s voice. But since adding drummer Aaron Derington to the mix last fall, The Clementines have brought new elements to their overall sound. Tim Jenkins mostly played electric guitar for Friday’s show and switched to mandolin for a few songs, contributing flourishes to Springer’s voice as well as a necessary bite to the music. Travis Earnshaw’s bass lines provided a foundation and a bounce to each song.
For one of their final tunes, “Your History,” the band’s former drummer [and Katy Guillen & the Girls’ current drummer] Stephanie Williams guest starred while Derington moved over to keys—reminding us that this band is a far cry from its beginnings as an acoustic duo of Springer and Jenkins, and is further testament to its growth as musicians and performers. “I felt [our performance] was very inspired by all of the support there and truly was a celebration of completing an EP that we’re super proud of,” mentioned Springer.
Though The Clementines were the evening’s celebrated act, Katy Guillen & the Girls headlined the show and kept the audience on the dance floor. They’ve added new material to their set as they prepare to release their debut full-length album in the fall. As always, Guillen’s guitar playing was simultaneously brutal and captivating, matched by Williams’ fierce and flashy but deliberate, on-point drumming (and a new kit to boot) and Claire Adams’ booming bass scales.
Since taking fourth place at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January, the trio has honed its performance into that of a band fit to play about any midsize/large venue in the country—a giant feat for a group still young in its career. This showed on Friday evening, as VooDoo provided the high-end production necessary to augment their roaring sound and a professional, flawless performance. KG & the Girls will be traveling in the coming months, playing the Montreal International Jazz Festival in June, Daytona Blues Fest in October, and taking a 10-day tour of Sweden in November.
The Clementines and The B’Dinas will be playing together again at The Brick on Friday, May 23. You can catch Katy & the Girls next at BB’s Lawnside BBQ on Saturday, May 31.
--Michelle Bacon
Jodie Platz is a concert photographer, and also doubles as the tour manager for Not A Planet.
