Dezzie burst onto the stage with her trademark exuberance and was ably supported by Stingrayz Fever with Tyler Cooney on lead guitar, Elliott Parker on bass, Sam “No Pants” on drums with a tight brass section with Clint Allen on Trumpet, Alex Price on Tenor Sax and Beck Olek on Baritone Sax. Throughout both sets, the individual band members were given time to shine with some magnificent solos from them all
The first set included some classic R & B numbers, “Money (That’s what I want)”, “That’s why I cry”, “Fever”, “Knock Knock”, “It’s your Voodoo Working” and “Aw! Shucks, Baby”. There were a couple of Stingrayz originals - “Scorched” and a new tune called “My Babe”. The pace changed with Solomon Burke’s “Cry to me” but hotted up again with “Told you not to tell,” and Louis Prima’s “Jump, Jive ‘n’ Wail” much to the delight of the dancers
The second set cranked up the pace getting the dancers on the floor, doing their thing to Louis Jordan’s “Ain’t nobody here but us chickens”, “Good Rockin’ Daddy”, “I’m Shaking”, “Work Song” (with some wonderful solos by Clint, Alex and Beck),” Chicken Switch”, “Whipper Snapper”, “Daddy Rolling Stone”, “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” and a favourite of Dezzie’s – “Do the Scratch”. The dancers really let it swing with the final two tunes – “Twisting the Night Away” and “(Every time I hear) That Mellow Saxophone”.
Thank you Dezzie D for your dynamic vocals and and to Stingrayz Fever for your tight and powerful performance sharing your passion for the early Rhythm and Blues music, and of course, thank you Ben our great sound technician. A special thanks also to Jules for preparing this review filled with highlights of a fun afternoon enjoyed by all!
