Conrad Warre
Bees Deluxe hit one of their regular haunts in Newburyport, Massachusetts last night. Playing at 17 State Street Café Newburyport, Bees Deluxe displayed much of the blues, jazzy talent they have become so well-respected for.
Lead by guitarist-vocalist Conrad Warre, the progressive blues, jazz inspired Bees Deluxe played as a trio yesterday evening, featuring keyboardist Carol Band from the latest Bees Deluxe CD A Can Of Bees. Ms. Band had to substitute for absent bass player Allyn Dorr with her left hand notes and drummer Alan Trebat was subbing for Bees Deluxe’s regular skin smacker Patrick Sanders.
The trio opened with an instrumental piece that enticed with its lean, wiry guitar phrase, a lengthy line with a smoky organ swirl from Ms. Band alongside it in polite accompaniment. The trio were soon into Billie Holiday’s “God Bless The Child,” a standard they rearranged with Warre’s smooth, graceful vocal finessing the song like it was an instrument in and of itself. He cranked up the heat with his fierce six string work. Jazzed up, guitar and beat driven, it became an elegant tune in a whole different Bees Deluxe kind of way.
Getting a little bit more funky, Warre and his trio mates last evening cranked out one of the familiar tracks from their own CDS. A couple of quick changes from the three kept the tune interesting, catchy, and challenging.
Soon after, the trio moved into Etta James’s “Damn Your Eyes,” a guitar driven tune in Warre’s hands as he pressed out More of his elegant phrasing. This time, his tender touches colored the music with great passion. Smoky lines represented smoldering emotions, and the trio brought that out with striking clarity. Warre went into overdrive, unleashing a torrent of color, tone, and groove before riding it out mellow.
Alan Trebat
In homage to Booker T, the rhythm section kept it moving like a danceable funk fest as Warre pressed out a hyperactive phrase, driving it forward while injecting circular, snappy spikes inside the main line. During “Nobody’s Business,” Warre’s voice got soulful and raspy. Accompanied by a persistent weave of organ magic emanating from Ms. Band’s electric keyboard, this tune soothed the soul with its bluesy, emotive vibe.
“Bring You Down” found Warre injecting a huge volume of emotion into his performance. Needless to say, his incendiary phrasing sent a magnificent line spiraling ever higher. Funky chord work from Ms. Band layered more warmth and soul around the lilting melodic phrase and over a driving beat. Warre’s guitar work was even leaner, meaner on his take on Bobby Bland’s “I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog The Way You Treated Me.” Trebat whipped up a nifty little drum solo too.
Carol Band
Through out the evening there was terrific melodic interplay between guitar and keyboard. Some songs found the melodic instruments playing tuneful numbers with jaunty rhythms and pretty, whistling guitar lines. Others found the guitar playing brittle phrases that sounded like the guitar was singing its lines. At other moments in the show, a slow boil guitar phrase would drift into a narrative arc with the guitar bleeding out its pain with shimmering high notes.
“Out In The Sun” featured nice touches, a climbing phrase, the kind that makes you feel its grit as it takes things higher. Bees Deluxe included in their set, “Roll Over Stockhausen” from their new A Can Of Bees, which they are currently promoting as they play out. This tune brought a bit of a jam feel to the evening. Warre’s jaunty phrase made one feel like skipping down memory lane circa 1922. His elegant phrase soon had a kicking edge, supported by Trebat’s hefty beat and Ms. Band’s shiny organ spikes. That guitar line soon sounded like it was moving as fancy as Fred Astaire.
Bees Deluxe
Bees Deluxe, though minus two of its regular players, put on an impressive three hour show last night at 17 State Street Café in Newburyport. 17 State Street was the scene of music as good as it’s food, beer and wine selection, and atmosphere. There is no better evening out than when an A list band plays in a top of the line Phantom Diner approved venue.
Check out Bees Deluxe soon. Check out 17 State Street Café Newburyport too.
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