We walked into the bar around 9pm, barely catching the end of the 8pm show with opener Blues Mafia. Katz's Deli, located directly beneath the venue, made us late by distracting us with its scrumptious NYC-style sandwiches (more on that soon!). By the time we greeted friends and purchased our drinks of choice -- Lonestar (for me) and vodka+sprite+grenadine+lime (for Christina) -- the Blues Mafia set was over. Even though I didn't get a chance to digest their music, vocals chick Sasha Ortiz's huge, yet jazzy voice saturated the crowded room and convinced me that I seriously need to find them the next time they perform in Austin. Get a feel for them here.
The Belleville Outfit, a local Austin music gem, was up next and charmed us for 2 hours with their delightful country, jazz, modern big band blended style. Vocalist/violinist Phoebe Hunt's sultry voice is a perfect fit to that style and her bubbly personality on stage clearly shows her love for doing shows like this. Connor Forsyth (who, strangely enough, removes his shoes before sitting in front of his keyboard) is furious on piano and along with Rob Teter's vocals and guitar, people were swinging and two-stepping on the dance floor next to the stage.
While the group really works to showcase the talents of Phoebe, Connor, and Rob, I felt a little uninspired by bassist Jeff Brown, guitarist Marshall Hood, and drummer Jonathon Konya. I'm usually quick to fall in love with funky basslines, and my eyes and ears usually go straight to the upright when a jazzy band like this takes the stage. But last night... not really. The rest of the band kept me happy and dancing, so I can't say I was disappointed, but I think the group could throw Jeff a few bars to show off his skills.
Final thoughts?
1. Dance, dance, dance!
2. The piano and violin steal the show
3. Fun stage personalities
4. You will fall in love with Phoebe (ahh! I love that voice and that fiddle!)
