As I walked west on Russell to Vanguard for a Polish sausage with hot kraut last Thursday evening, I noticed three men exiting Cactus Club about half a block in front of me. Nothing unusual there, except for the presence of a very thin young African American gentleman wearing a vest with appliques and sporting a poofy Afro. He very much favored the image of a young Prince Rogers Nelson as captured on the album art of his break out, Dirty Mind.
I lost sight of these guys only to re-recognize them as I took a seat at the bar at Vanguard.
“Who are you and where are you guys from?” I asked as I placed my order.
“Revel in Dimes from Brooklyn,” replied Washington Duke, their drummer, who was seated next to me. He went on to explain how they had gigged the night before at the Washington Park band shell for the Washington Wednesdays music series.
When I asked how that came about, he couldn’t tell me, but we did compare the venue to the Hollywood Bowl and he marveled at the sheer capacity of the setting. I referenced the similarities between Central Park and Washington Park, noting that they were both designed by the urban landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
We talked about Revel’s tour and how they had just come back to the States from Canada. As I left, I promised I would try to check out their set.
Doing a bit of research on my phone, I found a mini in-studio concert filmed at KEXP radio in Seattle. I was taken by the band’s female singer, Kia Warren, and her dynamic voice. She sings, shakes and shouts with authority.
Revel in Dimes is a throwback dirty blues band with an upbeat rockabilly style not unlike that of Nikki Hill. The band’s set was poppin’ and powerful for the large Thursday night crowd at Cactus Club. Bassist Premo doubled on harmonica, wailing blues riffs between bass breaks. Drummer Wash laid down soul-shakin’ but bouncin’ beats while veteran band leader Eric Simons rifted wildly on an array of vintage axes.
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The crowd ate it all up, led by the energetic performance of soul siren Kia Warren. She held them captive from start to finish with her sensual, seductive growl. Her presence was captivating.
When I asked drummer Wash, “What's next?” he said, “Iowa—I think.”
As I’ve randomly walked around Bay View during the past three years, I’ve been taken by the depth and variety of genres that bounce between Club Garibaldi, which hosted a heavy metal fest on Thursday, and Cactus Club. In essence, you really never know what you're going to get, but one thing is certain: It's always going to be different.
Tom Matthews led Milwaukee’s metal, hip-hop ensemble Down by Law.
