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Zzaj LIVE SHOW review!!!

Shelly Ely (vocals), Terry Jay (bass), Billy (drums), Martin (+ lots of others) Liquid Soul Cafe (McKenna, WA), 10/24/2009

All photos courtesy of ML Sutton

     I've been hitting this exciting little cafe a lot lately, & my friend Cara Clarke turned me on a couple months back to a group called "Big Nasty", which features Shelly & Terry Jay... Cara told me I'd "better check 'em out", but I missed the show she pointed me to, so when Martin Salinas (owner of "Liquid Soul", & also featured in the gig reviewed here) posted that she & Terry would be playing there, I hit the road right away!

     Just from looking at the pic above, you can see that the whole joint was jumpin', as it has been every time I've been there... the horn players came on after I had to leave, but I've seen them before (check back through my rants to find the LIVE SHOW review that featured them)... but it was clearly Shelly's wild & wooly blues vocals that kept th' energy flowin'... in fact, this is about as close as one can get to actually watchin' their regular group ("Big Nasty", linked in above)... by 8:05, the place was jammed - I mean, every table filled!  That kind of thing doesn't "just happen", there had to be a bunch of folks who knew about Shelly & Terry's magic brand o' blooz in order for it to be that full that quick.

     As usual, Martin tells the folks that it's gonna' be kind of "off the cuff", nothing really rehearsed... & the players in our readership know that there's no way that can happen unless the talent levels are over th' top... they roll off with just lead, bass & drums, just a nice easy blues/jazz jam that kickz!  Martin's lead smooth & silky, but full of GUT-funk - way cool stuph... he just has FUN with it, & gets the crowd setup for a night of prime pleasure!  They play a second tune, then here comes Shelly, sayin' it's "menopause time"... crowd KRACKS up... but when she launches into her vocal, we all know this is that ol' "serious                   blues"... ha! ha! What I mean is that it's killer stuff... whoever'n'l ever said that blues & jazz "died" in the Sound hasn't been out to watch Shelly... she

can just BELT out those blues! 

     Everyone in the house is in th' groove... this is some of the best (& most full-bodied) blues I've heard this year... hard to believe it's all happenin' out here in McKenna.  After a little experiment with something that sounded like "Little Wing" strays off into th' blue yonder, Shelly launches right on into a full-tilt vocal on "Since I Fell For You" - & anyone listening would catch the supreme blues vibe she projects.  No nonsense, but full of the life these blues are really all about!  If you're lookin' for blues with a message, you'll want to visit their site, listen to their schedule, read their bio, & (most importantly) listen to their MUSIC!  Cara was really right on the mark when she told me to check these folks out!  You can bet I'll be watchin' their calendar to catch their next show, but I can tell you now, if it's at LIQUID SOUL, I'll be there, rawkin' all night long with th' rest of th' folks!  Thanks for the great show, Martin, Shelly, Terry, Billy, Sheryl & Steve!  We'll be lookin' forward to any CD's they have in need of review!

Till next time...,

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