Petunia and the Vipers at The Shanty Tavern 2-27-15

Friday night was a special treat for us here in Little Old Lake City, a close-in neighborhood of Seattle. Not only did we have music royalty make a much anticipated visit, it all happened just blocks from my pad at a most excellent venue.

Petunia and The Vipers played one of the best shows of the year (disclaimer: that I have witnessed) at The Shanty, a venerated road-house with roots older than most of us have been alive. This was a special treat that we owe to the persistence of one Jon Noe (booking agent for The Shanty) and the gracious nod of the head from Marcel Petunia and his band.

Here is Jon getting ready to introduce the band. I have thanked Jon many times for his efforts to bring live music to our neighborhood. I have booked a few shows so I know that it is a lot of work. Jon does this for the love of live music; he is my current god.

Jon volunteered for this job. He doesn't get a cent and works his ass off to bring live music to The Shanty. And so with a few chosen words, and I paraphrase here, Jon said "now, we have one of the best bands in the country...wait a minute, Petunia and the Vipers are from Canada, please welcome one of the best bands in the world, Petunia and the Vipers!" The capacity crowd went nuts.

This collection of musicians is very special. They make a sound that is unlike any other. My buddy mentioned that Marcel (Petunia) was the David Byrne of country music. Yes, he is that innovative and special. I have seen hm before and listened to his music many times. We were in the presence of greatness.

Petunia and the Vipers hail from Vancouver B.C. They represent the finer and classier side of country music in my opinion. They have a gentle and mellow vibe but still can bring the rock to country.

Petunia and the Vipers are: Marcel Petunia, Stephen Nikleva, Jimmy Roy, Patrick Metzger and Paul Townsend.  Their music is hard to classify. They have sounds that range from a beautiful whisper to a deep growl. They are very particular about their sound. This is one of the reasons they are so hard to book. Luckily they came to the right place.

The Shanty has had it's up and downs. They were open daily for years, offered live music and was a vibrant part of the neighborhood. Due to illness, changes and just the way things go, the place was closed for months. Now, they are open every Friday evening and offer great live music.

Dayna is our host and I had the chance to meet and talk with her at length. She told me about the travails and changes that she has endured. She and her dad have kept the place open and it has prospered under their dedication. Thanks to you both for sticking with it!

The whole crew is outstanding from the front-door bear to the sound tech. Joe Jabon is a well known and revered musician. He is the sound wizard and by all I heard on Friday night, which describes him well. He put much of the board together. He and others wired the place, bought the stage lights and did all the work themselves. Here he is in his other job.

Joe is a super sweet and talented guy. The Shanty is lucky to have him tending the ears of all their patients. I am lucky to count him as a friend. I am currently begging him and his band to play a show in December.

We are lucky to have this place open and presenting great live music. Thanks to Dayna, Jon, Joe, dad and all the others behind the scenes that make this possible.

Back to the band of the evening. A couple of Petunia's cohorts used to be with Ray Condo before his sad and untimely death. Stephan is a marvelous 6 string guitar player. Tonight he started the first set with a guitar I have never seen.

It was a Japanese Douglas 6 string that by all descriptions is primitive at best. Here is a link to page I found about this instrument: http://drowninginguitars.com/2011/10/09/the-long-winding-story-of-a-vintage-japanese-douglas-guitar/

The place was filled with artists and musicians. When I saw Marc Bristol of The Honkeytonk Sweethearts (and editor of Blue Suede News), I asked him about the guitar. He had found one at a pawnshop for $65 bucks, hard case and all. Here he and Stephan are talking about the details.

I loved watching as well as listening to this band. Petunia has such a lovely voice. He can yodel like a love sick cowboy, croon like old blue eyes and growl like my malamute. Each member adds to this mix in their own special way. My favorite may have been the drummer Paul, who moved as if his body was crawling with ants.

Jimmy Roy plays a beautiful vintage double neck steel. I have seen him play before at The Anchor in Everett WA. He is so great and plays effortlessly. I got to thank him for the great set.

Patrick played stand up bass most of both sets and took a turn on the acoustic for one song.

All eyes were on Petunia. He presents a striking figure and once he starts to sing, you almost want to cry. It is hard to describe so you will have to find out for yourself. See them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/PetuniaTheVipers, http://www.petuniamusic.com/, buy their music, listen on Bandcamp, but by all and any means, listen to Petunia and the Vipers.

Here is a link to a video I shot with my cheapo iPhone...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFtXzQrnANI&feature=youtu.be

Yes, that is a Kazoo hanging around Marcel's neck.

Petunia and the boys had the place jumping; lots of dancers and people sitting and standing up close to watch the action. Here is Johnny 7 and Marieke Benner tearing up the dance floor.

Now for more Petunia.

I got to talk with Marcel outside as we arrived and he is a sweet and friendly guy. I made sure to buy both of his CD's. I already had one...but I always make sure to purchase as much merch straight from the artist as I can. If they will come all the way down from B.C. to entertain us, I will drop the dime every time.

Joe had brought a guitar in with him and Stephan decided to give it a try in the second set. As he got into it I saw him nod to Joe in obvious enjoyment. He ended the evening with it and I mentioned to Joe that he was not going to get it back.

I loved this band. Do not miss if you ever get a chance to see them.

Thanks to The Shanty for putting on great live music. Thanks to Jon and Joe for their passion and dedication to live music and thanks to Marcel and the band for coming down to the states for this great show.

See some live music soon, it will enrich your soul.

Marieke and The Go Get 'Em Boys and The Western Bluebirds at The Shanty Tavern

It was a good time in little old Lake City Friday night. A once distant suburb of Seattle, Lake City is now just another neighborhood. The Shanty, a roadhouse of the past has been reincarnated into a Friday's only music venue. It has a nice big dance floor, a great sound system and a bar with many choices of beer and wine.

 
I love this place and thanks to Jon Noe, a local DJ and music lover, it has been offering quality music and good clean fun of late. Tonight held the promise of both.

Joe Jabon was mixing the sound tonight. Joe of Banzai Surf fame, we don't get to see them nearly enough.

I had yet to see my friend Marieke play with her new band and she was now in my neighborhood. I didn't have any more excuses. One of my favorite bands was also on the bill so this was going to be fun.

We met Amanda on our way in. She made this hand-embroidered dress herself.

Here is Marieke doing her thing:

Just before the music started a whole group of young folks showed up en-mass. They were ordering Rainier bottles by the truckload. Apparently they were playing a little puzzle on the inside of the cap. It kept a couple of them very busy for the longest time.

First up was The Western Bluebirds, a marvelous local group that plays western swing. They are Kevin Campion, Liam Fitzgerald, Nick Streeter, Dave Bush, Tony Laborie and Bill Jones.

I  have seen them several times and love them the more I see them. Liam is a FB buddy and I see him in some of his other bands often.

Nick is another great musician that I love to see up there strumming away, he kinda looks like something out of the 20's here.

Kevin is the lead singer and plays a lovely steel guitar.

Tony Laborie is another local pro, I have seen him many times and always playing an amazing stand-up bass.

Dave is in the back keeping the band on beat.

I used to play the trumpet. I love a good horn. Thanks to Bill who buzzed his lips tonight.

They played all of my favorites and then some. They have a CD that is filled with hits from the past played in the Bluebirds' wonderful style.

You can connect with The Western Bluebirds here: https://www.facebook.com/westernbluebirds/timeline

They had the whole crowd up and the dancers were filling the dance floor.

Good stuff tonight from The Western Bluebirds.

They added a lovely voice in the middle of the set. Kate Voss has a killer voice, it matched perfectly with the band. She sang beautifully and the combination was marvelous.

She added a lot to an already great experience.

I love the new/old fashion. Ah, bare midriff, that takes me back.

Marieke and The Go Get 'Em Boys were up next. I knew 3 of the members of this band from their other adventures. I was looking forward to this as they have been getting rave reviews for months.

I have known Marieke for a few years. She has been singing here and there, adding a voice when asked. It was so nice to see her fronting her own band with some of the best rockabilly/swing musicians in the area.

Johnny 7 plays guitar.

Wesley plays bass.

And Joe plays the drums.

They play a marvelous version of swing and rockabilly. Marieke and the band make a powerful statement. I have always loved these musicians in other bands. The new combo was great.

She is striking as she belts out the standards. She is totally in her element here.

I love Johnny's guitar, since hearing him for the first time with The Black Crabs.

Johnny and Marieke performed a lovely tune before they were joined by the rest of the band.

There were a lot of dancers swinging on the dance floor and I was having a hard time finding a safe spot to take pics. My feet were flattened the last time I left the dance floor.

Thanks to The Shanty for offering such great local music, you can see them here: https://www.facebook.com/TheShantyTavern They have music every Friday evening for cheap.

Thanks to Marieke and The Go Get 'Em Boys and The Western Bluebirds for providing such great music. This is a passion for them as they make no money doing this. See some live music soon.