Another stand-out night of surprising and captivating sounds from The Michael Kach Group at The Irish Rover in Sarasota. The first set started out with the band "trying out" a Duane Betts original, with Duane on vocals, and backup vocals by Bain Beakley and Burt Engelsman. Smooth as silk, and everyone knew the words, so it came off flawlessly.
Then it seemed every other tune was a smooth jazz composition by Mike Kach, with his keyboard and Duane's lead guitar playing off each other as if connected by one brain, or something like that. You just can't categorize these guys.
The second set was more of the driving Southern rock flavor that The Michael Kach Group cooks up so well. The surprise guest was a young tyro named Tony Tyler who smoked on slide guitar in tandem with Duane Betts and then delivered roaring lead vocals on a blues number later on. Props to Mike Kach for generously sharing the stage with other interesting local talent, with which Sarasota is overflowing for sure.
Continuing his nightly quest for complex variations of stick-flying and kick-pedaling on the skins, Frankie Lombardi dove into a couple of blazing solos, and all I could see was sticks whippping as fast and accurately as a hummingbird's wings, and legs in constant motion on the bass drums. When Frankie gets going, you've got to just sit back and be mesmerized until it's over, as his bandmates do up there on the stage. Whew!
How refreshing that this group presents a constantly evolving stew of creative ideas, all offered up for just tips at the Rover. Catch 'em every night you can--it's never the same show, and it's always a treat.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment