Kitty, Daisy & Lewis The Powerstation (Concert Review)

It’s been a lean few weeks for live music…thankfully, the film festival is taking up the slack…so that made the anticipation of seeing Camden siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis even greater. The trio have performed there before…Kitty celebrated her 18^th birthday there in 2011. This time is was Lewis’ turn to blow out the candles on stage.

The opening act was Tom Rodwell’s Storehouse. Tom is fresh from touring with Don McGlashan and tonight he and his guitar were accompanied by another guitarist and two drummers, one of which was the wonderful Chris O’Conner of The Phoenix Foundation. When I arrived, the four of them were already laying down an hypnotic island groove that had the crowd moving as one. By the end of their too-brief set vocalist Coco Davis had joined the fun. For their finale, Zombie Jamboree, O’Connor poured out a pile of metal bits on his drum and used then for percussion while Coco crooned and Tom laid down more slinky guitar riffs. I could have listened to them all night.

But hey, we were there to see Kitty, Daisy & Lewis and they definitely dressed to be seen. They took the stage at 9:45 as Hot Butter’s 70s synth classic Popcornpercolated through the sound system. Kitty and Daisy’s outfits certainly took their cue from the 70s…both wearing onesies that looked like they came from Ziggy Stardust’s closet. Lewis, meanwhile was keeping it real with a stylish black suit and tie. As always the three were accompanied by mum and dad…Ingrid Weiss on electric and stand-up bass and Graeme Durham, seated discreetly in the rear on electric and acoustic guitar, with occasional backing vocals.

This is at least the third time I’ve seen the act, and I must admit to being underwhelmed with them the first time, back in 2009. They spent an inordinate amount of time switching instruments and tuning and seemed more concerned with how they looked than how they sounded. But they were mere teenagers then and both they and their act have grown up since.

Yes, the three of them still switch instruments regularly…each takes a turn on drums, guitar and keyboards and they all sing lead at some point. But now, they manage those transitions almost seamlessly. Musically, they’ve moved on from the retro-jump blues of their first album, adding elements of ska, classic pop good old rock and roll, and more importantly, adding their own voices to the songs, such as Daisy’s torchy No Action.

Speaking of ska…trumpet player Eddie “Tan Tan” Thornton, is again touring with the band and he appeared for a delightful three tunes blowing his mighty horn and adding his cheery disposition to the proceedings.

The focus was on tunes from the new album, The Third, with almost the entire record performed. We got just one from Smoking In Heaven…Don’t Make A Fool Out Of Me…featuring a feisty drum break by Daisy…and a couple from the first album, including crowd-pleaser Going Up The Country, featuring Kitty’s bluesy harmonica.

Lewis got to show off his guitar playing skills during Say You’ll Be Mine, an early B-Side that served as the encore and the evening finished with a rockin’ Mean Son Of A Gun, also from the first album.

With all three in their early to mid-20s and obviously brimming with talent, it will be interesting to see where there folks head to next, musically (and fashion-wise).

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Flynn:

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis set list:

1. Bitchin’ In The Kitchen
2. Feeling Of Wonder
3. Baby Bye Bye
4. It Ain’t Your Business
5. Don’t Make A Fool Out Of Me
6. Turkish Delight
7. Whenever You See Me
8. Good Looking Woman
9. Never Get Back
10. No Action
11. Whiskey
12. Developer’s Disease
13. Going Up The Country
14. Say You’ll Be Mine
15. Mean Son Of A Gun