Wow at the Village Cafe

Last night at the Village Cafe the evening started with a DJ with dreads. As he worked we began to hear a variety of music from the 60s. He played the Doors, early Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, and many others. I asked him how he got this old stuff in his head. He told me "I am old, mon." But he wasn't really. He caught me singing out to "Love me two times" and gave me the high sign.

The night was unusual to say the least. A fairly good sized group of old white men and young white women were there. E commented on it and I said "I fit right in (with the old white men)." They were there to support the last act.

The acts were really terrific for me. The first one was "Ganja". This one was really different. The music was good, kind of jazzy and different. The singer made me think he was channeling Jim Morrison. He was angry, he talked, he spouted poetry. He did everything but sing. But it worked. It was pretty thick patois so I couldn't get everything, though.

The second act was "Gas Money." I had a hard time understanding the announcer and thought she said "Gazmani" or something like that. They played a kind of jazzy/bluesie sort of music, but the singer was the real news. He had a great voice and the ability to push it around (bend it half notes, throw around key changes, and modulate a lot). The crowd loved it and so did I. They pushed it for a good long set.

The headliners were called "Black Zebra". This was a fairly big combo, with a really wide repertoire. They played everything from roots reggae to New Age to jazz and on to Janis Joplin. It was all amazingly good! Apparently the lead vocalist and guitar (Wayne McGregor) is a lawyer in his day job. One of the other founders (Mark Pritchett) manages one of the local newspapers. The band has a white women singer (Katie Iver) who channeled Janis Joplin very well ("Piece of my heart"). The white crowd was there for her, I guess. The keyboards were by "Jillie Fingerz" (Jillian Castle). She also sings very well. The bass and drummer were also really good.

The band has played at the Mobay Jazz/Blues festival for 4 years on the talent stage. They have an album in preparation.

Black Zebra on Myspace