Bo Diddly’s was singing the blues for Movember, Nov. 30. A decent sized crowd enjoyed authentic blues and soul, though not as many as there should have been.
Three of Lethbridge’s finest blues performers were up first. Darryl Düus, Papa King and Leigh Doerksen have struck upon a combination that really works well.
Düus sang lead on several of the tracks and played lead guitar in their relatively laid back set. Papa King held down the bottom end, seated on a stool, playing bass and drums for most of the set. He’d hand off the bass to Doerksen for a couple of songs, who sang lead on a couple other songs and added extra guitar.
They played a relatively laid back set which was heavy on the groove.
Düus howled like the spirit of Howlin’ Wolf, while King added his gravelly baritone. They played a variety of blues standards and a few originals.
While the Boogie Patrol’s set was also a lot more laid back than usual, it was
easy to see why they have been nominated for a Maple Blues Award for best new group.
Lead singer Rotten Dan Shinnan was reminiscent of Joe Cocker, singing with boundless passion and soul dripping off every note.
The hypnotic organ and tasteful guitar lead took the audience from a Lethbridge bar on a chilly November night, into the bowels of a hot, sweaty Chicago evening on the town.
They began with “Cool Under Fire” the first track off their latest CD and let the music carry them and the audience onto a magic carpet ride of beautifully soulful blues.
