They call themselves “a dynamic mix of rock,
blues, country & funk cover and original songs,” and that seems an apt
description of Phyllis Lataille’s band with Ken Kucza on guitar and vocals,
Daryl Whitaker on bass and occasional vocals, and Barry Boccasile on
drums. I met Phyllis a while ago via my buddy
Joe; I’d seen her around a few times and she always seemed to remember me as
though we actually knew each other, so (not being one to shun anyone’s
attention or good vibes) I had been meaning to check her out (her music, I
mean) for some time now. And wherever
Phyllis goes, Mary is sure to accompany, so... bonus!
What we got for our showing up was a
pleasant surprise. For some reason, I
was expecting sort-of a slide-in-hand, local blues goddess type, but maybe with
a more ‘grizzled’ persona, kinda like Bonnie Raitt meets Joe Dulude... but this
was a much more pleasant mix than all of that!
The ‘spread’ was across the decades, from the 60’s on up to fairly contemporary
material, all seasoned with the band’s particular flavor. Phyllis’s voice was much sweeter than would
work for an entire set of blues; in fact I found myself increasingly and
pleasantly enchanted by the way she fairly fearlessly embraced a wide range of
material.
For myself, even though I do enjoy the hell
out of it, I almost cringe whenever I hear a disco song pop up. Mind you, I’m OK with Talking Heads or
Blondie, and don’t they ‘meet up’ with disco by way of a funk beat and smooth,
silky instrumentation? But when the
Phyllistines started off their second set with MacArthur Park, I was like ‘OmiGod
what are they doing...’ But, guess what,
they pulled it off. In fact, the band
really started to gel at this point. The
first set had that ‘garage-band feel,’ like they were loose and having fun while
kinda looking to each other to see what was gonna happen next, with the
material feeling more like adult-contemporary folkies having a go at some
fun. But when they whipped out the funk,
things got cooking. Phyllis’s voice really suited the song, Daryl had some
chances to throw in the plucks and slaps he clearly loves, Barry nailed it; he got
loose and percussive while holding it all down, and Ken pulled out his
slinkiest, shiniest playing yet.
Mr. Kucza seems a rather quiet fellow, and I
can’t place where I first came by the idea that this guy is good, but so far I think I was
right. He might be one of those humble
professor types, or maybe a mad scientist is more like it, but he plays with a
lot of restraint. Ant time he takes a solo,
the listener is left wondering ‘what alse ya got?’ He’s clearly a guy with more to offer than
can be captured in any one show, or band even.
I believe he has at least one other outlet (who doesn’t, these days?),
Glenwood Mills. And so, we have a new
man-crush to follow... Sorry, Joey!
They also got a little louder. Patti’s 410 Lounge is right in the middle of
a bunch of residences- a real neighborhood bar- so, volume might be an
issue. The Phylllistines cranked it up
at this point, though, just enough. I
guess that’s how they struck me overall: Just Enough. A little of this, a little of that, all
played out with a sense of experimentation; mostly covers with a couple of
originals, and some guesting from a few attending musicians and even a whole
band (Time) at one point. All in all, it
had the feel of a jam session without being anything less than a showcase for
talent.
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