Flanfire

So, back we go to Ego's. First, gotta love the swiveling, rolling chairs that make it easy to move from table to table or around the table to sit and visit with lots of different folks without leaving your own seat. Kudos to Ego's for getting the smell out along with the smoke (though Clifford did use a smoke machine in one song!). But so what - it's all about the music, and the Saturday night lineup was Clifford (featuring Bryce Clifford), then the Texas Sapphires (who are already mixing and mastering the CD they did with Lloyd Maines), and finally Gina Lee and her Texas swing band that was simply sensational!

Clifford (known in Canada as Pedestrian Status) has been around for awhile, but guitar-slinging brother Bryce has been spending lots of time in Austin (and why not, when you can get Kim DesChamps to play pedal steel with your band?) since coming here with brother Brad (who is back in Canada caring for a very ill friend) to record the new CD "Signal the Sun" with Kim (a CD previously reviewed by Flanfire). Bandmates Zach Firnhaber and Daniel Jones provided a solid rhythm section (bass and drums), leaving Bryce and Kim to handle the leads. Missing for the evening was trumpeter Kullen Fuchs who is on tour with Ian Moore - and I suggested that Bryce bring up a girl singer at least on a few songs to provide harmonies and improve the view.

Just so happened that in the house for the evening was the gracious Rachel Lynn, who lent her voice to Signal the Sun and who only recently ended her long residency at the Red-Eyed Fly. So I was graced to receive her demo CD of four songs featuring her voice and guitar. What a nice woman to meet - she says she is doing a song or two on Monday at Ego's for the Johnny Stranger Show and Ego's Christmas Party. Also in the house for part of the evening were Josh and Teal of the Mother Truckers -- whose last Ego's show of the calendar year will be on Tuesday following Redd Voelkart -- yet another evening of musical bliss to be sure.

Bryce will be off to Canada over the holidaze - visiting family and friends in Toronto and his more rural home environs and hopefully finding material for a few more songs that showcase the "northern sound" of his home country. If you have not gotten "Signal the Sun," once again I urge you to do so -- these songs are good, and the music is warming even when sad.

Next up (now I had gone to Antone's and returned and only missed half the set) were the Texas Sapphires - well, once again, you KNOW how I feel about Rebecca Lucille, Billy Brent, and their band mates. This time they showcased a new pedal steel player (whom I did not meet). As always, this band demonstrates the pure joy of making music together. Look for the new CD to hit the streets, stores, and music venues sometime soon - maybe February, but surely in time for SXSW and not-SXSW events in March.

No sooner than I saw the likes of Sweet Basil McJagger walk in the door did I decide to stick around for the Gina Lee show. I first saw this keyboard genius playing with Cade Callahan during the Sunday gospel show at Threadgills a while back, and the esteemed professional is also playing (and singing) these daze with the Derailers. The well-respected Texas immigrant (who paid her dues in Levelland) always has great performers at her side, and Gina herself does not disappoint - doing old standards like Roly Poly and Detour - there's a muddy road ahead, plus Blue Moon of Kentucky -- and lots of other dancable music (many of which are originals from her CD "Where Ya Been?") that kept many people OUT of their seats (including our pal Rebecca Lucille).

The band featured Bostonian Tom Umberger on his beautiful (and very well played) Guild hollow body electric (jazz-style) guitar plus a trumpet player whose name I did not get but who "blew" people away in the audience - plus a rhythm section of Brandon Ryan on bass and Chris Stelly on drums. Gina and the band will be up in her home state of Nebraska over the holidaze but if you enjoy great Western swing, you will like this band. Now back to Sweet Basil -- the Derailers will be playing once a month at the Broken Spoke starting on January 21. I first saw the Derailers in 1999 at the old Dessau Hall in a bill that also featured Terri Hendrix playing with Lloyd Maines and Glen Fukunaga - now that was a different lineup - but Sweet Basil is helping put the real spice back into this classic band. Go. Dance. Enjoy.

Finally, I want to put in a reminder that on Sunday (December 18) at Alice's Restaurant there is a fundraiser concert for Slim Richey and Francie Meaux-Jeaux who lost a home and most of their stuff to a fire a couple of weeks ago. Anyone who has ever heard Slim play the guitar (or Francie the bass) or who is a friend of friends of theirs like Leeann Atherton - and who likes to EAT - would do well to truck down to Niederwald and chow down on great food, great music, and a great time to be had for a very good cause.