Havira has a quirky tenor that, oddly enough, sounds like Viggo Mortensen as hepcat killer, delivering lines like, “Check your machine for signs of life/go on and tell yourself you can make it through these heartaches I know all too well/let me show you a new way through happiness.”
Donovan Roberts give their acoustic blues more life than most such projects, avoiding by-the-numbers traditionalism while maintaining deep blues feeling. Are You Alone (Shelloy Sounds) crackles with energy even on such
oft-recorded songs as “Big Road Blues,” displays inventiveness in a country blues arrangement of Percy Mayfield’s “River’s Invitation,” and enriches the canon with Jeff Roberts’ lovely, jazzy “Wonderin’ About You.” Roberts’
guitar is augmented by occasional piano, harmonica, and mandolin, and Lori Donovan’s smooth, sultry vocals are simply perfect. Bold moves like the bossa nova “What You Need From Me” and a reworking of Tom Petty’s “You Got
Lucky” pay off neatly without interrupting the mood.
by Tom Hyslop, Blues Revue
Saturday 9/19
10pm / $5
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