I finally got a chance to see the Bellrays live, playing a weird gig in a sports bar in Tempe, AZ. I went expecting to see a real good band, and I saw a great one. The Bellrays are everything I want in a rock and roll band. You've all heard the story of a band that shows up and the the gig is an embarrassment, the audience small and the sound terrible, and the band plays like mad dogs anyway fot the dozen or two people who look like they care? That's what we got last night.
Musically the band was superb - energetic, well-rehearsed and yet spontaneous, despite a new drummer who looks like he's about 15.
And Lisa Kekaula is the best singer I've heard in a long time. She has a physical presence that I don't think I've seen since... aw hell, I'll say it. Muddy Waters. I haven't seen anyone who radiated this sense of conviction, calm self-assurance, and authority since Muddy Waters. She's a force of nature.
