Mama Kicks came into Whippersnappers in Londonderry, New Hampshire last night and treated the jam packed room to a few hours of their perfectly honed, raw, feisty sound. No matter what genre or era Mama Kicks draws from, all of their selections get imprinted with this popular cover band’s familiar dose of road house energy and personal pluck.
Opening with Sam And Dave’s “Hold On,” Mama Kicks wasted no time showcasing their individual talents within their cohesive sound. Chris Lester’s lead guitar purred like a kitten while lead vocalists Lisa Guyer and Gardner Berry blended smoothly here, Berry’s svelte voice and Guyer’s throaty growl providing pleasant aural eruptions.
Moving right into Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing,” Guy’s silky voice wound its way around the throbbing groove. Mama Kicks’ frequent guest musician Mark Belanger applied his mellifluous saxophone melody to enrich this 1970s R&B staple. Belanger also owns Whippersnappers so he can do pretty much whatever he wants when he wants to.
Mama Kicks has a way of making these cover songs their own and The Rolling Stones “Miss You” was no exception. Drummer David Stefanelli got his groove on, locking in tight with Berry’s left hand bass notes. Lester finessed the lead vocal on the semi spoken lines, sounding very much like a man haunted enough to walk Central Park after dark. By this point, a listener would be well aware of the impressive amount of melody snaking out the speakers. Guitar, keys, and sax made for a nice thick broth throughout evening.
Excitement mounts whenever Guyer suddenly goes into a sustained dynamic roaring belt. It’s like the room stops and takes notice of “the voice.” She pulled this off early in the show during Aretha Franklin’s “Baby, I Love You” while Berry was laying down some kick ass organ chords, his swirls bopping along with a rhythmic pattern located in a deep down sense of cool.
At this point, Guyer called birthday girl celebrant Shannon from the audience onstage to name the evenings’ shot after her. “Shannon’s Effing Delicious Cherry” was the new name of the drink and Guyer somehow persuaded every table to order a shot of it.
Berry, an over 60 musician, sounded as young as ever on “Brown Eyed Girl.” His familiar timbre still has that richness stretching out subtle nuances, caressing each note for ultimate nostalgic reverie. The band rocked it on Heart’s “Straight On” while Guyer belted it. The tune was also marked by Belanger’s creative sax injections into a straight forward hard rocker. Guyer kept the energy level high when she lead the band into The Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing,” a funked up rendition with Lester nailing that brief, spiky electric guitar chord. Stefanelli went into a drum solo like a funk-powered engine pumping out a very danceable beat.
Lester tackled the vocal on David Bowie’s “Suffragette City,“ his voice shooting like a laser beam over that speedy burst of Bowie music. Getting back into her belt mode, Guyer busted it beautifully on Journey’s “Stone In Love” with her fulsome, pristine croon savoring every sweet vocal note. Lester’s restless lead guitar break was another neato thing happening underneath Guyer.
Just when you’ve been impressed with Guyer’s throaty roar and sweet range on the rockers, disco numbers, and funk stuff, she treated the crowd to a classy, fully stated rendition of Ray Charles’s classic ballad “Georgia On My Mind,” which she dedicated to her beloved father Harold who continues watching over his little girl. The lady was more like a Billie Holiday or Etta James classy jazz singer, her voice clear and pure. She breathed a lot of life and emotion into this Ray Charles classic. Belanger’s forlorn soulful sax melody took flight like a muscular bird, remaining aloft as his higher notes cried out their innermost feelings.
Berry’s seasoned vocal and Belanger’s jumpy horn shots lent themselves well to James Brown’s “I Feel Good,” a moment that had the packed dance floor doing all kinds of hyper moves.
Guyer spotted national guitar stars Johnny A and Greg Tower in the audience so she called them up to join the band on stage. Johnny A and Greg Tower handled the guitar duties on Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” and Aerosmith’s song “Sweet Emotion.” Johnny A made a huge sound on guitar which fit right in with Guyer’s heavy, rangy vocal. His solo was his usual combo of passion and technique unleashed on the world. Wild. Tower too became a one man wall of sound on the Aerosmith tune, bouncing his guitar phrases in any direction he randomly chose.
Much of the evening was marked by the band’s energetic interpretations of classic rock and disco. A bouncy rhythm guitar on The Pretender’s “Message of Love,” Berry’s evil hiss on AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” and the muscular rhythm on J. Geils Band “Give It To Me” were just a few of the artistic touches that made up the musical rollercoaster rides. Screaming sax notes on Donna Summer’s joyous disco “Hot Stuff” transformed into a sax and guitar duel as the band suddenly changed the song into “She Works Hard For The Money.” The band just plays out like a CD with a bunch of fun, tasty bonus tracks.
Mama Kicks began their second set with “Chain Of Fools.” This timeless classic is always fun on Mama Kicks night. Belanger’s sax solo strutted its brassy cool through the nightspot’s party atmosphere with its attention grabbing style. From there, the spotlight was on Lester’s take-his-sweet time chunky lead guitar phrase leaping around the funky groove. Lester also played the ringing guitar notes to Tom Petty’s “American Girl” before setting free that lead guitar phrase that cuts it way forward like a motorcycle headlight through a foggy night.
The chemistry among this band can be astounding at points. “Living In The City” from Stevie Wonder was a lumbering funk 18 wheeler fueled by Berry’s synthesized bass dollops and Belanger’s bold brassy phrase blending perfectly with Guyer’s belty coo. The group can also whip up a massive raucous sound like they did with Rod Stewart’s “Stay With Me,” a rocking, rolling, big sound with each filling in their own individual artist flourishes in this raw, raspy song.
The Journey song “Any Way You Want It” got energized in Guyer’s hands as she thrust it forward with each vocal launch. The band made their way to their dance party version of “Some Kind Of Wonderful” with each band member taking turns showing off a little on their individual axes as they were each introduced to the audience. Guyer segued the group right into Michael Jackson’s breezy pop tune “The Way You Make Me Feel” to close out the evening on a jazzy, carefree note.
It was another night of Mama Kicks musical opulence. The band put on a show full of talent and entertainment and the dancing crowd left the establishment exhausted and satisfied.
Whippersnappers will host Mike Fioretti with Sax Gordon on January 26, and Brian Maes Band in April.
