The Dusty 45's, Miller and Sasser, Billy Dwayne and The Creepers and Shane Tutmarc at Slim's Last Chance 3-30-13

Slim's threw a party last night and invited some of the most talented musicians in the area to play. I was lucky enough to attend and witness the whole thing. It was a blast.

Slim's Last Chance and Chile Shack is a saloon, restaurant and music venue in Georgetown. They were celebrating their 5th Anniversary of playing wonderful live music. I have attended many a great show here. They have an awesome sound system and tech. It is never too loud and you can hear every instrument and voice.

Looking over Jim's, our most excellent sound engineer's shoulder, you can see the crowd spilling out the side door. It was a nice day, one of the first of the season so it was great to have the outside in. The place was getting packed.

Check out Slims here: http://www.slimslastchance.com/index.html and connect via Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/slimslastchance?ref=ts&fref=ts

The line-up tonight was stellar, some of my favorite bands and artists were playing. Headlining this special occasion was one of Seattle's favorite and long-lived bands. The Dusty 45's have gained fame all over the world. They are special entertainers. The artists that form this band are the best in the business.

I rarely see this band in such a small venue. They play the large halls.This was a chance to get up close and watch great artists at work. Here Jerry Battista is in his happy place. That is Kelly Van Camp playing happy in the back.

The Dusty 45's were the headliner, but the bands that were on first were not chopped liver. Miller and Sasser from Portland and Billy Dwayne and The Creepers were on the bill too. They are also some of the finest musicians in the northwest. This was going to be a good night.

There was a nice surprise, Shane Tutmarc was going to do a short set. Shane is a Seattle Native who is currently based in Nashville. He has a killer style and a beautiful voice.

He was backed by his Seattle Band, Robert Lee Mitchell on bass and Dave Warburton on drums.

 
I had never seen Robert play bass. He is one of the best keyboard players here in Seattle so I was surprised to see him rocking a bass.

Dave is a mainstay in the Settle country scene, playing drums with all the greats in town. I was glad to see him in the drivers seat tonight. If Dave is happy, I know I will be happy.

Shane plays a sweet mix of gospel, blues, grunge and country. He is inventive and original in his writing. He delivers his music with passion and a sweaty energy.

I loved the description from Don Yates of KEXP: "Tutmarc combines elements of garage-rock, folk, blues, country, gospel and pop into emotionally searing songs of spiritual disquiet and personal heartache."

 I found myself up dancing and loving his style.

He was blazing on the 6 string and about halfway through his show he asked if someone had a pic. He had been using a quarter.

Shane hit all my buttons. He and the boys were tight and rocking. Shane was going to make the most out of his short time on stage.

Dave introduced me to Shane later. He is a sweet and talented guy. Here he is with Lincoln Barr a buddy of his from Red Jacket Mine.

They are totally on fire right now. Someone Else's Cake is their new collection of tunes. Lincoln and Red Jacket Mine is a screamingly successful band with pop, r&b, rock, country influences. They are hard to classify so you are just going to have to buy some of their music like I did. They have several albums, I downloaded the most recent and love. Connect with Lincoln and his band here. http://redjacketmine.net/

Shane has garnered a lot of buzz, as he writes great music with emotional lyrics. My favorite tune was his last. Mean Kind of Love was a beautiful tune. Shane told me he wrote it with friends in Nashville and it is going to be featured on Star Anna's new album. It was a moving bluesy rock tune that left me wanting for more. His 20 minute set was over all too soon.

You can connect with Shane here: https://www.facebook.com/ShaneTutmarc

I bought 2 CD's. I always purchase straight from the artist when I can. The dough goes straight into their pocket (then straight into the gas tank if they are touring). Support your local artist.

You can also see Shane here: http://www.shanetutmarc.com/ He is touring to support his new music. Get out and see him if you can. He puts on one great show, he leaves it all onstage.

Next up was Billy Dwayne and The Creepers. He and the Creeperrs are another one of the big names in the local scene. He is a great musician and music supporter. I see him out at many a show.

He and his mates put on one hell of a show. I saw Kevtone, the drummer in the audience after. He is singular cool guy, he is a blur most of the time and it was nice to see him slowed down to normal mode.

He was on fire tonight, just like the whole band. They played some new and some old tunes. I don't remember loving them as much as I loved them tonight.

I have reviewed them several times before. They are one of my favorite bands in town. See a previous review here: http://liveseattlemusicintheclubs.blogspot.com/2012/10/billy-dwayne-and-creepers-six-gun-romeo.html

I wasn't the only one loving it tonight. Each tune brought a cheer from the growing crowd. The place was packed and the dancers were up rocking to Billy's rockabilly fun-house. Wesley was putting on his usual killer show. He and Kevtone were driving the band to a billy-frenzy.

Billy has awesome charisma and a cool style that is hard to resist. He plays a great guitar and sings sweet vocals. He and the boys know how to make the place swing.

It was no wonder Slim's had Billy, Wesley and Kevtone playing at their anniversary party. I don't think you could have a good one without them.

You can connect with Billy and the band here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Billy-Dwayne-and-the-Creepers/300967686625419

Wesley presents a striking visual as he mounts his bass don't you agree?

Did I mention that these guys put on a killer show? Besides the great music, the theater is the best.

Billy played a killer 45 minutes, Rockabilly at the best.

The hits kept coming; one of my all time favorite bands was mounting up. Miller and Sasser are one of the finest country bands in the area. Fronted by two mighty artists, the band is an all star collection of stellar musicians.

I got to see James and Kevin hanging out before the show. Besides having a golden set of pipes, James Sasser is a nice guy with a sweet and genuine smile.

Chris Miller and James Sassser are a duo that came together a few years ago and bring a fresh, original sound to country music. Tonight they had a few surprises. Besides playing their usual killer repertoire, they did some soul. I was in heaven. I love these guys no matter what they play.

James plays acoustic guitar and sings like an angel. He has a wonderful soft mellow voice that belies his young age. He is a real cowboy with rural Oregon cowboy roots. His passion and skill are evident in his performance.

Chris Miller is a seasoned pro having played lead guitar for many of my favorite musicians. He has played with Wayne Hancock, Dale Watson, Chris Gaffney and Dave Alvin. Super talented, he plays both steel and 6 string guitar all while adding stellar vocals.

Chris was spot on tonight and I found myself hooting after everyone of his awesome solos. They played a mix of original tunes and covers. They did a killer version of Silver Wings. Chris and James combine for some absolutely lovely harmonies.

I am always happy to see Miller and Sasser come to town as they feature one of my favorite Portland musicians, Dan Lowinger. He plays lead guitar in one of the best western swing bands in the northwest. The Barn Door Slammers have sweet old timey style and excellent musicians who know how to deliver it. You can see me slobber all over them here: http://liveseattlemusicintheclubs.blogspot.com/2012/07/roy-kay-trio-western-bluebirds-and-barn.html

Here is Dan rocking the bass tonight.

Kevin Major played drums tonight. He plays a supremely sparse set, there is nowhere to hide here. Make great percussion or go home.

 
He and Dan combined to drive this great country sound.

James and Chris got to sing some soul tonight, It's too late to turn back now was awesome. They had the place quiet and paying attention, beautiful harmonies and lovely guitar. I could have stayed in their trance all night.

They did a nice version of Mamma Tried then jumped right in to another great. They stopped taking breaks in between the songs and just jammed.

Chris was having a gas tonight, I think he was showing everyone else in the house how you play guitar. It had already been a lesson with Shane and Billy, but Chris was amazing all.

They played a great version of When You're Smiling. It brought a smile to everyone's face.

A super fun set from one of the best entertainers in the genre. This style of country is fresh, original and is going to gain more popularity as it gets more exposure. You can connect with the band here via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Miller-and-Sasser/155329434477482 or here via their homepage: http://www.jamessasser.com/fr_home.cfm

Buy their CD, the tune Bye Bye Baby is worth the price of the admission. You can purchase it straight from the artist here: http://www.jamessasser.com/fr_home.cfm

I would eat a bug to see Miller, Sasser, Major and Lowinger again...in a New York minute.

Thanks to them for coming up from Portland and thrilling us with their brand of country, rock and now, soul.

Magic fingers.

The place was cooking, mass dancing and big fun. This girl was having a blast.

The party was a success, Slim's was packed with happy fans, dancing, sweating and consuming adult beverages. Here is the patio with the faithful taking a break between bands.

The final act, the icing on the cake was setting up. The Dusty 45's were on next. The change between bands had been really fast tonight. They all wanted max time on stage. I had seen the members of the 45's in the crowd before the show. Here is Billy Jo saying hi.

Here is Kelly with his typical warm smile talking with our righteous server.

The Dusty 45's are one of the preeminent bands to come out of the northwest in this genre. Billy Jo and his mates have taken rockabilly to new levels, playing original and familiar tunes with great style, talent and humor.  Did I mention the place was packed?

Here is Billy Jo of the Dusty 45's. The pictures speak louder than words.

Billy has the charisma of a revival gospel preacher, his face is elastic and always smiling. He delivers his message with love and passion. We, after all, are his flock. He has a gorgeous voice, awesome style and a super entertaining performance.

He is surrounded by a choir of astounding and no doubt, heavenly inspired musicians. The aforementioned Kelley Van Camp is a talented and creative drummer. He is also an excellent vocalist, singing killer harmonies with Billy Jo. Here he is with Jerry B, the lead guitarist for the 45's.

And since I mentioned Jerry, here he is doing what he does best.

Billy Jo is the front man, the face of the band, but Jerry is the guitar hero, an phenomenal artist. We had seen some amazing guitarist tonight. He and I were watching Chris before his set, both of us blown away at his talent. But Jerry is his peer, playing phenomenally tasty licks in any venture he partakes. I have seen him play many times in many different forms. Jerry was born with a golden pic in his hand. He loves the to play guitar.

This band plays a lot and it shows. They are the pros from Dover, the Don Rickles of Rockabilly, the best. They are the best entertainment for the buck. They have traveled the world and rocked millions, well, many thousands anyway. Billy Jo is riveting as he performs his super fun act.

He plays guitar, trumpet and sings lead vocals. He does all with a smile, style and a great sense of humor. Nobody is having as much fun as Billy Jo.

He really knows how to get everybody up and dancing. The crowd expects it and he delivers, every time. Jeff Gray plays upright bass and sings vocals. He delivers the goods the old fashion way. He is fun to watch as he gets into the groove.

They played all the favorites and some I had yet to hear. To be fair, it has been a while since I saw them last so I was thrilled to hear songs like Little Shack. Jerry rocks this tune as well he should. He has been playing it for a quarter century (tee hee).

The Dusty 45's play the best in the genre, the kind of music that makes you want to get up and move. They are one of the ultimate party bands. I am sure they will play your wedding. It will be one you will never forget, no matter how many times you get married. Connect with them here: http://www.dusty45s.com/

Too bad they don't have any fun. Thanks to Slims for 5 years of great music and food. I look forward to 5 more.