Boston Baked Blues were the featured act last Sunday at British Beer Company’s Sunday Bloody Blues Brunch. Boston Bakes Blues treated their Manchester, New Hampshire blues audience to three hours of smooth, mellow blues from the 1940s and 1950s. As ever, Vinny Serino’s variety of harmonica and his polished, shiny, soulful voice breathed new life into some blues classics that he clearly loves to sing and play. His variety of vocal approaches, rangy voice, and harmonica styles allowed him to create a wide array of sounds, making each song something likable and personable.
The Boston Baked Blues first number was built upon mellifluous harmonica lines and blues drenched guitar notes. Lead guitarist Laura Brogan played some blues guitar licks that were drenched in a down and dirty Chicago style, as Serino sung about “Slippin’ And Slidin’” down the avenue. Man, does that Serino get a pretty melody line going on. He also sings with a rangy vocal that can start out from a lower register, then reach high up and stay just as smooth. It makes one feel as if a great singer from the past has just traveled time to entertain us in the 21 century.
Blues rhumba “Who’s Been Talking,” a Boston Baked Blues original, found Serino playing a lilting melody line on his harp before he used other intervals of notes for a fiercer melody line. He eventually closed this song by going back to his initial, much mellower intro. Drummer Skip Fisher laid down an inescapable, irresistible drum pattern as lead guitarist Brogan, niece and protégé of dearly departed Joey Vellucci, pressed out some wickedly fierce guitar lines to match what Serino was blowing through his harp microphone.
Serino next lead his Boston Baked Blues into Eddie Cleanhead Vinson’s 1940 hit “Cherry Red.” Serino’s harmonica and Brogan’s electric guitar politely rivaled each other for the sweetest melody and it ended up a tie, with a doubly good sound coming from the pair. Serino’s handsome tenor caressed the lyrics warmly, milking all of the tenderness out of those timeless words. He soon blew a sensitive harp line that carried this one like a cloud on a warm summer day. A bass solo from Bobby Abruzese impressed with its feeling for deep sounds and rhythmic sensibility before a drum solo from Skip Fischer went down low into the meaningful deep, appealing, too, to folks who like to hear and feel some soul coming from the drum kit.
On “Flip Flop, and Fly,” Serino and Abruzese carried it with their winsome harmony vocals on the chorus. Also, Serino sent his voice down low here, creating a sharp, handsome contrast with Abruzese’s higher voice.
Next, the four piece went into one of the gold standards of blues vocal works, “Fine Looking Automobile.” An old fashioned charm in Serino’s delivery on this classic filled the song with his own personal warmth. It’s uncanny how this singer can make you feel how much he enjoys singing a certain song without overwhelming his material. Meanwhile, Brogan’s guitar phrase here cried out the joys of the song’s fine looking auto with a very clean sound. Fischer certainly added to the classy textures going on by targeting his skins with adept brushwork.
“Mystery Train” is one oldies classic that lets Serino showcase his American roots sensibilities, blowing a perfect train whistle melody on his harmonica. He clearly enjoyed singing this early Elvis Presley classic, working out his oldies, roots influences and approach. Simultaneously, Abruzese’ bass work kept the number filled with motion. His bulbous low end notes moved the song along in a way that made you feel you were aboard that train and it was taking you somewhere beyond your wildest imaginings. Brogan’s chord work put a little more coal in the locomotive’s engine before she let loose with some spark in her phrasing.
Boston Baked Blues certainly offered a warm set of old fashioned blues charm last Sunday at British Beer Company’s Manchester location. British Beer Company is only chain restaurant in existence that exudes high caliber coolness. If you get a chance, catch Serino’s Boston Baked Blues at one of the British Beer Company locations.
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