The Roy Kay Trio and The Dalharts at The Shanty Tavern 4-8-16

As usual, I didn't do any homework for the evening. Roy Kay was going to be playing at The Shanty; it is in my hood, and I was going. They were playing with The Dalharts. As it turned out, I got very lucky.

One of my favorite honky tonk and rockabilly percussionists greeted me as soon as we walked in. It was a real treat to see Tommy Chiffon. He is in one of my favorite bands, The Barn Door Slammers out of Portland OR. It was great that he was playing tonight with The Dalharts.

Tommy is a sweet and talented guy. I was really glad to see him tonight.

It meant that good music was on the way. Thanks to The Shanty for offering live music.

 You can see The Barn Door Slammers online here: https://www.facebook.com/TheBarnDoorSlammers/?fref=ts See them live if you are ever in the Pacific Northwest. 

You can read one of my earlier posts about The Barn Door Slammers here: http://liveseattlemusicintheclubs.blogspot.com/2012/07/roy-kay-trio-western-bluebirds-and-barn.html

I saw Roy hanging around before the show.

Meanwhile, The Dalharts were getting ready to mount up. I got a pic of the sound tech, Joe Jabon in a surly mood. He really is a sweet fellow; a talented guitarist and good sound tech.

Here is Jon Noe, The Shanty impresario introducing The Dalharts.

I wasn't expecting what happened. We got gobsmacked with real Rockabilly; one with a dynamite new voice and awesome energy.

Ian had the voice of a rockabilly star with a look and a delivery to match. One look is worth a thousand words.

His mates were the perfect match for this soon to be legend. As I stated earlier, their drummer is the best. His set is stripped down and built for action. Tommy was truly happy to be playing with this band.

I talked with Tommy about the band a little before and he told me that their bass man is from Serbia (or was that Croatia). Marko is a tall lanky guy that has experience with one of my favorite surf bands; The Bambi Molesters.

He was kicking the doghouse and was having a gas holding down the bottom for this killer band.

Here is a link to a video I shot of one of their tunes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FnY2445cpw&feature=youtu.be

Christopher was the perfect fit for this band. He had killer skills with just the right twang.

The combination was awesome. Because there were only two bands there was a chance for a longer set than the normal 45 minutes. They played a mix of original and cover tunes.

The dancers were up and moving.

This was one of the best sets I have heard in some time. I got to tell Tommy how much I loved the band later. Tony LaBorie, another great bass man and I gathered around and worshiped Tommy.

See the Dalharts if you get the chance. I think that the more experience Ian and the band get, the better they will be. They have the base for greatness. Ian is a newcomer to rockabilly and the more he performs, the more comfortable he will be. I would love to see Ian let loose Presley style!

I got some decent pics of the band tonight.

After a brief break, Roy Kay and his mates came on and performed their usual great stuff. Three guys with no percussion. Well, no drummer. Mr. Cady provided the bottom and the percussion.

The Roy Kay Trio has been around for many years. Since the trio was formed in 2001, they have released four full length albums. They are: Roy Kay, vocals / guitar, Robin Cady, bass / vocals and Mike Geglia, electric guitar / vocals.

They play great rockabilly, country blues and rock and roll. Roy has a sweet voice and loves what he does.  He always has a smile on his face.

I have seen and reviewed The Roy Kay Trio many times. Look around on this site and you will find them. The link to The Barn Door Slammers above was a show with Roy Kay. Here is another (this one of my first posts): http://liveseattlemusicintheclubs.blogspot.com/2012/01/8th-annual-elvis-tribute-featuring-roy.html

The Roy Kay Trio always brings out the dancers. When we first arrived the crowd was sparse. But as it came closer to Kay Time, the place started filling up.

Roy and his mates performed their usual great set and everybody went home with smiles. Roy will do that to you.

Connect with Roy, Mike and Robin here: https://www.facebook.com/theroykaytrio/timeline
See their page and buy some of their classic rockabilly here: http://www.roykaytrio.com/

Thanks to Dayna, Dad, Jon and Joe for keeping The Shanty open and presenting live music. There is nothing like having this awesome resource in Lake City.

And as always: