Done Goners, The Cry Babies and Boxcar Babies at Slim's Last Chance 3-1-13

We were treated to one of Germany's best exports at Slim's on Friday night: music! The Cry Babies from Berlin performed an awesome set. There is so much great rockabilly and of all things, surf music originating in Germany. I have been buying a lot of CD's that have German roots, it is always creative and original. When I saw that one of the most original rockabilly bands was going to visit us I was all over it. This was going to be very good!

Slim's is a great place to see live music. It is small and intimate with a great staff, a good selection of adult beverages and a great sound system.

Jim is the sound tech. He is a seasoned pro and the sonic waves are always perfect.

Tonight Slim's was presenting some great bands. I had done a little homework and besides checking out The Cry Babies, I saw that two of my favorite musicians were playing first. Johnny Seven and Kirsten Ballweg were performing as The Done Goners tonight. A simple but powerful duo performing classic rockabilly and honky tonk.

I saw Johnny in the audience commiserating with The Cry Babies. Here he is with upright bass player Luscious Lloyd Clark.

Here is Johnny, Lloyd and his mate Trinity Sarratt relaxing before their set.

Kirsten and Johnny also play in The Black Crabs, one of my favorite bands. I go out of my way to see them and have reviewed them more times than even they care for...see a couple here: http://liveseattlemusicintheclubs.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-rugcutters-bash-at-darrells-tavern.html
and here: http://liveseattlemusicintheclubs.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-rug-cutters-bash-and-cathie-and.html

You can connect with the Crabs here: https://www.facebook.com/theblackcrabs?fref=ts

Here are the Crabs at Darrells:

Tonight they were without Tom Forster. While I missed his killer percussion and warm smile, they played a dynamite set anyway.

They took the stage with an extra couple instruments this evening. Johnny was playing an old suitcase with a bass drum pedal. Kirsten was playing a high hat with her pedal and banging on a teeny tiny cymbal with her hand. I wonder if Tom was in the suitcase?

The Done Goners played some familiar tunes and some new, funny and original songs. I loved a tune they did with the refrain "Johnny Seven must die". Hilarious and rocking original music.

They did a great cover of Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town. They also did a couple tunes that they perform as the Crabs.

Kirsten gets the best out of her beautiful blonde upright bass.

She also sings great duets with Johnny.

Good music and a humorous delivery, I love Johnny and his funny bone. He had a cool vintage and well worn guitar tonight.

I will always roll over for these guys. I love the music they play and will always seek it out. Thanks to Kirsten and Johnny for a fun set.

You can connect with The Done Goners here: https://www.facebook.com/thedonegoners?ref=ts&fref=ts

The crowd was decent and very appreciate. The Cry Babies were up next and we all felt it proper and fitting to drink beer, a wonderful German tradition. Here we are having some peanuts with our bier.

Lloyd and Trinity were up next, I loved their style.

I had listened to some music from this band and I knew I was going to love their set. They didn't disappoint. They played a sweet mix of honky tonk and rockabilly with a sweet flare.

Here is a description they provided on their MySpace page: What do you get if you mix Country, Rockabilly, and Early R&B with a crazy beat? We like to call it Sex-a-billy-Swing-a-ling! For those of you who don't know what exactly that is, check out the Cry Babies!!!!

I caught the drift; this was a cool happening. Lloyd had a custom painted stand-up bass.

Trinity had a cool style too. She played guitar and percussion, in heels no less. Ok, now I see the sex in the Sex-a-billy-Swing-a-ling. 

They are two members of a four member group. Not unlike the Goners in the set before, this was an abbreviated version of the regular band.

But once again, the sound was stellar and I was amazed with the sound of this pair. They sang killer harmonies. They both had beautiful voices that meshed perfectly.

They had big time energy and talent. Two folks rocking the place; a sweet surprise from Rockabilly heaven. They played Jambalaya (on the bayou) for an opener. It got every bodies attention.

I have been crazy for a lot of music out of Europe and especially Germany. Surf and rockabilly are universal languages that all human animals understand. I recently have purchased CD's from The Mobsmen (Norway), The Kilauea's (Greece), Die Kosmonauten (Germany) and The Langhorns (Sweden). Europe has a huge rockabilly and surf communities and produce some of the best music anywhere.

Here is a pic of  Die Kosmonauten, one of my current faves.

They play western (yippie ki yo) infused surf and instrumental. They call their music "Sexy Surf".

I was a sucker for The Cry Babies, in whatever form they took. 

Lloyd rocked his illustrated bass, twirling it, standing on it and plunking out the killer bottom. He was super fun to watch.

They played some cool familiar tunes in a very original fashion. A super fresh and original sound that was a gas to watch. They covered Mama's got a squeeze box and Evil Bumblebee. The peeps acknowledged their wonderful set with big hoots and lots of applause.

They had a punk side to their country/rockabilly mix. I loved the vibe.

Together they were magic. Thanks to Trinity and Lloyd for coming way out west to Seattle. This was the first show of a U.S. tour. I hope we started them off in a good way.

The Cry Babies ended with an awesome version of Blue Moon of Kentucky.

I purchased a CD and I saw Kirsten buying a T-shirt. It was nice to see them getting some monetary support. I always buy merch that the bands offer. It goes directly into their pocket and helps pay for gas money. You can bet they didn't get much for their performance.

 Oh, did I mention that Trinity was pregnant? Yes, this was their Punk in the Oven U.S. Tour. That kid is going to have rock in it's blood. You can connect with them here: http://www.myspace.com/crybabiesrockin

There was a group of bikers that came by for a beer, they had some beautiful rides.

I asked them if I could take a picture. One guy said yes, for five bucks. I demurred and took it anyway and I lived to tell about it.

Next up were The Boxcar Babies. This band had some of the most stellar country musicians in the area as members. As I saw them bringing in their equipment I knew we were in for the good stuff.

Here is some of the best news that any country music fan can get; Country Dave is playing tonight! Oh, an there is a pretty girl with golden pipes too! I will get to her soon enough.

Here is another piece of great news; Robert Lee Mitchell is playing keys. He is one of the best honky-tonk piano players in the area. I always get the warm fuzzies when I see him sit behind his Kurzweil keyboard.

The hits just keep coming. I saw my Facebook buddy Dave Warburton lugging in his skins. I knew we were going to hear stellar percussion.

Here is the line up for the band via their Facebook page. I know it is not correct for this evening's fare. Terry Bratsch, Sarah Bratsch, Heidi Anderson, Doug Turner, Dave Warburton and Kelsee Franz.

In the tradition for the evening, they played killer honky-tonk and classic country.

Fronted by Terry, Boxcar Babies performed marvelous classic country.

He and his sister Heidi combined for some lovely harmonies.

Heidi had a beautiful voice. One of my favorite tunes of the evening was Silver Threads and Golden Needles.

The combination of all these great musicians was sweet, killer country from the best in the city. Terry had the awesome country style.

I am a sucker for a girl with a stand-up bass. It has been a problem before, I will try to retrain myself here. Here is Sarah, Terry's wife slapping the doghouse. I like a family enterprise.

Did I mention that this guy is the bomb? Country Dave Harmonson sets the bar for many guitarists in the city.

Magic fingers. He does this for love, and it shows.

Many good things were happening tonight. I loved watching Dave and Robert Lee trade off solos.

Dave and Robert were in back, but they couldn't hide from the fun tonight. We were treated to some superb country thanks to this great collection of local superstars.

I loved Terry, great voice and presence.

A super fun evening of country and honky tonk. You can connect with Boxcar babies here: https://www.facebook.com/BoxcarBabies

Thanks to Slim's Last Chance Saloon for providing a great venue for live music. You can connect with Slim's here: http://www.slimslastchance.com/index.html

Slim's also has great food, my favorite is the Texas Red Chili over their outrageous (to me) Cornbread.

Get out and see some live music soon. It is good for the soul.