Photo Diva: Singin’ The Sex and the City Blues

by Photo Diva

Monday, June 7, 2010

Bill Evans and James D'Arrigo sit in with the Voodoo Cowboys at the Las Vegas Country Saloon
Photo by Linda Evans

Well, since our band’s Friday night gigs at the Orleans pool got canceled, I decided to make this weekend all about supporting and celebrating friends. Saturday night was briefly spent at the Sand Dollar, sitting in on a set with and then off to my friend Samantha’s birthday party at the Rush Lounge inside the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino on Fremont Street.

The Sand Dollar is a long established locals bar located on the edge of Chinatown where live blues and old-school R&B is played every night. Lady “J” Huston & The Fireballs have played there often and, well sometimes things just work out. At least they do for this Diva. I was dealing with the prospect of dragging a bummed-out-cuz-he’s-not-gigging bandleader husband with me all night but Lady J called Thursday and asked The Rev. if he could cover the first set with her at the Sand Dollar. Problem solved. I could get myself all fabulous, keep the spouse happy, shoot pics for my column and hang with my girls all in one night. Yes, it is good to be the Diva.

Bill Evans and Lady J Huston play the
cool blues at the Sand Dollar
Photo by Linda Evans

Lady J’s band, The Fireballs, features Hopie Bronson III on Keys/Vocals (has played with Buddy Miles, Tyrone Davis and Chuck Jackson), Dana Barry on Guitar/Vocals (has played with Herb Alpert, Wayne Newton and Rich Little), Derek “Baby D” Galbreith on Bass/Vocals (played with Isaac Hayes for 23 years as well as Dionne Warwick) and Jimmy Prima on Drums/Vocals (has played with Fats Domino, Dr. John and Louis Prima, Jr). I have talked about the amazingly talented and occasional band mate Lady J in the past (“Local Talent You Can Count On” and “Gigging in Vegas”) and the band was just on fire, thrilling the small but enthusiastic audience. A note on the small audience thing. First, anyplace where Lady J hangs her trumpet and pink feather boa should be packed every night. Too many bands seem to “call it in” on smaller gigs but Lady J only knows one way to perform. Given her gender I suppose the term “balls to the walls” is not appropriate so let’s just say that she gives it her all every show whether the crowd is 20 or 2000. If you love the blues and old-school R&B I highly recommend seeing my girl when she and The Fireballs play the Liberace Cabaret Showroom on Saturday, June 12, from 7:30pm -9pm. You will not be disappointed.

Now, since we were going to a “Sex And The City” themed birthday party right after the first set, I was looking Samantha-sexy in a new blue dress and heels and Bill was in a suit. So we were way overdressed for the Sand Dollar which is an authentic beer and shots blues bar in every sense of the term. But, while it’s not in the best of neighborhoods and it might feel a little on the rough side for you fashonistas, it is a comfortable environment and the bar and wait staff are all very friendly so I never felt out of place. Upcoming acts scheduled at the Sand Dollar are: Monday, June 7, Open Blues Jam w/Michael Vaughn; Tuesday, June 8, Sara Patterson from 9pm – 10:45pm and Joey Vitale from 11:15pm – 1am; Wednesday, June 9, Rocky Tonk; Thursday, June 10, Chris Bell & 100% Blues; and Friday, June 11, Scott Rhiner & The Moanin’ Black Snakes.

There’s another venue in town that has a blues night and it’s one you would not expect — the Las Vegas Country Saloon. That’s right, the VooDoo Cowboys host the popular Blues Jam & Musical Networking Night every Tuesday starting at 9 PM. The Country Saloon is a hard-to-find but pretty cool bar (above Hennessey’s and Mickie Finnz on the east end of the Fremont Street Experience). The VooDoo Cowboys, consisting of Phil G, Scott Woodward, Devon Hamilton & Steve Housewright, are a versatile and talented band with a country music base but bill themselves as “rocking country” so it is just a short sidestep for them to go into blues mode. They act as the house band for other blues players to come up on stage and show what they got so you never get the same show twice on jam night. If blues isn’t your thing the VooDoo Cowboys also host a Monday Night Industry Jam — also at the Las Vegas Country Saloon — that is wide open musically and so much fun.

David James at the Rush Lounge inside the Golden Nugget
Photo by Linda Evans

So it was finally time to get my par-tay on. And — added bonus — since it was a sorta gig night, we were in the Rev.’s Soul Wagon instead of the Divamobile and I was not driving so I could even enjoy a nice fashionable cocktail. The Sex And The City themed party for my dear friend, fellow Diva and soul sister, Samantha, held inside the intimate Rush Lounge at the Golden Nugget was fantastic. All of us were looking fabulous and I got to hear the amazingly talented Frankie Moreno, who just got signed by Sony and is a regular playing around town at places like B B Kings and the Rush Lounge, as well as the equally talented Vegas newcomer, David James, who sat in on a few songs in honor of the birthday girl. I will be reviewing their regular shows soon and writing about these guys so stay tuned.

Sam’s husband, sax player extraordinaire Jim D’Arrigo, was sitting in with the band as well and we chatted with him for a while between sets. I commented on how great all the ladies looked and noted that I loved Sam’s very daring (and very high heeled) shoes. Jim answered, “Yeah, I had to valet park because of those shoes.” I know, it is not always easy to be married to a diva but it’s always worth the extra effort.

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