Another day of blues at Lamont's

Second weekend in a row at Lamont’s and there was not quite the turnout to see Theodis Ealey as the week before when they hosted Marvin Sease. Another beautiful Saturday although quite a bit hotter out. I got there to here Verbal Warning doing an outstanding set of soul oldies including tunes from Motown and Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson with three keyboards, two guitars and several really good singers. Up came Brothers plus four, an old fashioned soul-funk band which tore into three James Brown numbers (Including Bewildered and I Go Crazy) before the lead singer did a strong version of There is Something on Your Mind. They then backed up Eddie Daye & Denise Daye who did a strong set of oldies and soul before Eddie did what is now his signature tune, (I’m no Dirty Old Man, I’m a) Sexy Senior Citizen simply out to outrace father time. Denise Daye was amazing in both her outfit and youthfulness. Material ranged from doowop to R&B-soul classics (Eddie did an amiable rendition of Tyrone Davis’ Turn Back the Hands of Time) while Denise did Ike & Tina’s rendition of Proud Mary. After a break when DJ Ultramix Wayne spun some hot songs including Vernon Garrett’s Standing at the Crossroads.

Theodis Ealey joined his band after one warm-up number, George Benson’s Breezin’. Theodis did some fine soul and blues from his Stand Up In It album and others including some solid blues like Heading Back to Hurtsville. Several times he told the audience I may sing some some southern soul, but I really am a bluesman launching into some blues licks and later when he made this statement launched into a terrific rendition of Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On. Of course his closing number was Stand Up In It, where he noted that “you can lick it, you can stroke, you can put it in a pipe and smoke it,” and then referencing the Queen who is coming to Lamont’s on July 15, “tell Denise LaSalle that it ain’t going to snap, crackle and pop until you stand up in it” It capped a terrific performance from Ealey who is a helluva singer, guitarist and songwriter and certainly someone who should be able to appeal outside the southern soul-blues circuit.