You put a powerful black voice in front of a garage band
you’ve got some unstoppable rock ‘n’ roll. Put Boston’s bombastic blues belter Barrence Whitfield blasting in front of The Savages (including two of the
original Savages) and it’s like an operatic Howitzer. The band unleashed an
incredible r&b-tinged garage barrage on the
unsuspecting and the suspecting piled into Lovin’ Cup
Tuesday, September 10, as Whifield let fly with his
gravel wail and primal scream.

Whitfield bounded around the place, dancing on tables,
throwing tantrums on the floor and generally wreaking havoc with hits from his
quiver like “Bloody Mary” and “Big Mamou,” as well as
songs off his new “Dig Thy Savage Soul.” Original Savage, guitarist Peter
Greenberg (ex-Lyres, ex-DMZ) added the comfortably loud rock ‘n’ roll treble to
Whitfield’s bluesy Tyrannosaurus trifle and trouble. One of the best all-out rock
‘n’ roll shows I’ve seen since, well, the last time Whitfield was in town. Unstoppable and unparalleled. EEEEEOWWW!!

Caught the Charlie
Mitchell Group‘s happy hour set at Abilene Friday evening.
The band is no doubt proficient chops-wise, but comes on with a casual hangback. More atmosphere than
performance, which ain’t always easy. I dug
the group’s casual elegance, especially its take on Monk’s “Blue Monk.” Tres cool.

Anonymous Willpower let go with a
huge set (breaks are for pussies) later that night at the Dinosaur BBQ with a
heart full of soul. The band rode the rollercoaster between Irma and Etta with
an amazingly tight back beat. So tight, in fact, that it would’ve made Ike
Turner slap himself. They wore the crowd out, up, and down. I dug Don Anonymous’
parade-float head gear, I dug Suzie Willpower’s vocal
trips to church and the moon. Hell, I dug it all.

I’m getting a wee bit tired of copping to “Americana” and
“roots-rock.” Yet when I caught Dust
& Bone‘s set at Lovin’ Cup Saturday
night, the band’s casual lope and saunter called to mind The Band and even
Dylan, and it doesn’t get more Americana or roots-rock than that, does it? The
three-guitar front end was surprisingly clear and cooperative. You could pick
out the picking on all three. I liked it a lot. Dust & Bone warmed the
boards for 5Head, which delivered a tight and fun, horns-a-plenty set of smart-assed
ska. Bassist Steve Pizzuto
sounds better with his pants on. Trust me.

This article appears in Sep 11-17, 2013.