Even I can’t make it to every gig going on in Lethbridge. I usually try to take a night or two off, but I couldn’t pass up a chance to see Fredericton, New Brunswick bluesman Keith Hallett, March 1 at the Slice.
 I was one of about  three who caught a wicked show on Monday.
Looking like John Popper from Blues Traveller, Hallett’s voice was similar to  the JW Jones  of the JW Jones Blues Band and popper, while his slide playing was reminiscent of Sonny Landreth. He was picking every note with his fingers, nary a pick was to be found.  He displayed superb feel and control for his instrument, making his guitar, shriek, moan and whisper. He even proved to be an adept swing player on a couple upbeat instrumentals and dabbled in a little finger picked  rockabilly.

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A fundraiser for Haiti at the Slice Feb. 26, raised over $2,000 which will be donated to Partners in Health and the Humanitarian Coalition which are dedicated to providing earthquake relief and medical care in Haiti. A couple of new blues bands with lots of familiar faces were on the bill beginning with Blues Sen Sa Shun featuring Pat Ackerman on bass as well as University of Lethbridge Anthropology professor Dr. Steve Ferzacca. They played a variety of familiar songs, beginning with a laid back version of ‘Voodoo Chile,’ as well as  ‘Can’t You See,’ and ‘the Sky is Crying,’ and displayed  excellent musicanship throughout their tight set.
The Shawna Romillowa  band were a highlight as well.Shawna is usually singing back up with local funk/disco band Hippodrome. Her band plays a similar style of R and B. They performed exceptional versions of ‘Hound Dog,’ and ‘I Can Change For You.’ They added a touch of reggae which had much of the full house cheering and dancing. The Dave Renter Quartet finished off the night with some upbeat jazz.

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Calgary acoustic blues duo Bill Hills and Ray Lemelin returned to the Slice to play for another sparse audience, Feb. 24.
 Bill Hills blew an upbeat harp solo to kick off the show, while Ray Lemelin added some sweet acoustic guitar, then launched into the blues classic ‘Easy Rider,” which sounded like it was being sung by Elvis.
Hills was a bundle of energy throughout, slapping his knees, snapping his fingers, dancing in his seat while stomping his feet.
 what the audience lacked in numbers, they made up for in enthusiasm. They played a lot of their latest CD ‘Neither Here nor There,’  blues standards including a really laid back version of ‘Bring it on Home,’ and a really cool song about the music business called ‘Frogs to Snakes.’
They will be beginning work on a new CD  this summer including four or five songs in French.
“The first side will be in English and the second side will be in French. We’ll see how it goes,” said Hills adding  they are planning this project because Lemelin is from Quebec and also they home to get more exposure in Quebec from it. Tim Williams is set to produce this CD , as he did the previous CD.
“The last one came out in March, so it’s about time for another one,” he continued adding they are taking part  in Calgary’s winter blues festival, where they were opening a show for slide guitar master Sonny Landreth.

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor

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March begins with  a roar this week.
 Blues/folk singer songwriter Darren Johnson returns to the Slice, March 4. Also March 4, check out Maurice with the Armchair Cynics at Henotic. Henotic has a couple of excellent shows with Cumako, who were a hit at last year’s South Country Fair. L.A. Beat is giving away two tickets to this show to the first person to tell me what city Cumako are based out of. Just  e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Another excellent show is March 5 at Henotic with Lorrie Matheson, Mark Davis and Chris Page, who are all playing with Jesse And the Dandelions. Fat Baby Jake is back at the Slice, March 6.
 Also on March 6, there is a massive dance party blowout at Henotic with DJ Ninety Nine, CKXU DJs, the two Mikes from Still Leanin’ Friday night show and DJ Sleepyhead. L.A. Beat has tickets for this show to give away. Just e-mail me  at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Upstairs there will be complete chaos with the reunion of Endangered Ape, Bikeland from Calgary, Krang, Fist City and the Amber Waves. Tickets are $10 in advance.
For something completely different, local country singer Alyssa McQuaid is at Pop’s Pub South on the same night. As well, look for Wendell Ferguson and Katherine Wheatley at the Wolf’s Den the same night. L.A. Beat is giving away  two tickets to this show, courtesy of Deb Rakos, to the first person to e-mail me This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the name of one of the bands Wendell Ferguson has played with.
Local grunge rock band Double Jack is releasing their latest CD at the Blarney Stone, March 5. The show begins at 9 p.m.. There is a four dollar cover. The first 25 people get a free copy of the EP.
There are several open mics this week beginning tonight at the Slice where Treeline will be hosting. On Wednesday, Becky Johnston hosts the open mic at Henotic. And Beaches Pub has a regular open mic on Thursdays.