Dr. Zoo's Randal Arsenault adds exotic flair to chilly night

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I didn’t want to miss Dr. Zoo’s Randal Arsenault, so I left the James Barker’s Band party at Average Joes a little early to catch Arsenault at the Owl Acoustic Lounge on a chilly and snowy Feb. 3, just in time to miss his new rock and roll side, but just in time to catch a set of Dr. Zoo World/ reggae and Celtic music.

Randal Arsenault at the Owl Acoustic lounge, Feb. 3. Photo by Richard Amery
As always they were a lot of fun, but didn’t have nearly as many people as they deserved.


 They heated up a miserable Saturday night with warm vibes and plenty of African influenced energy, which Arsenault absorbed through his 20 years spent of working in Africa.

He attempted to get the audience to help him sing along in Zulu throughout “Welcome To Africa,” which incorporated a few bars of ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight,’ which did have the audience singing.


 Megan Brown added spooky fiddle and her usual haunting vocal harmonies. Arsenault played bass through the last part of the set and exchanged his acoustic guitar for electric guitar for a song.

Megan brown playing with Randal Arsenault. photo by Richard Amery
 A highlight was his version of Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.”


 They showed more of a their rockabilly and rock and roll sound on “In the Doghouse Again.”


They wound things down with a laid back, world music style version of “Johnny B Goode.”

— By Richard Amery, L.A. Beat Editor


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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 February 2018 10:56 )