Kitty, Daisy & Lewis Live in Auckland 30-07-15
31/7/2015
Last night I was lucky enough to catch Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, an all-family act of two sisters, a brother, and their parents on back-up bass & guitar.
They delivered a great set, blasting thru some energetic numbers and pausing for a few quieter moments. They are all three multi-instrumentalists, Daisy on keyboard & drums, Lewis guitar, keyboard & drums, and Kitty, the youngest was impressively employed on guitar, drums, harmonica & banjo. And this is on top of vocals by all three. My companion wondered if the slight delays which resulted from constant swapping of instruments might be a negative, but I saw it as something of a plus, as it gives you the feeling you are in the presence of musicianship, not just show-biz. Not that they haven't developed their stage presence, I could hardly fail to notice the girls' decidedly un-rock & roll catsuits featuring harlequin squares, and a black snake on silver. They also brought on as guest a long-time collaborator, veteran trumpeter Eddie “Tan Tan” Thornton, who certainly added an authentic feel to their ska-style numbers, and rarked up the crowd a bit. I have been listening to them since early 2014 when I first heard their eponymous 2009 debut CD. I was impressed with the energy and charm of their stripped-back renditions of older music like early rock & roll, rockabilly & country. They have since matured a fair bit, their latest and third CD (Titled, logically enough, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis The Third) which I bought on sight at the shop recently, features entirely their own material, a bigger sound and production by the Clash's Mick Jones. Musically there is a wider use of styles, from boogie to folk-blues and ska, they even get a bit jazzy. The write-up at Allmusic.com says it better than I. |
Below is a playlist I compiled on YouTube last May, some good live clips and some produced videos, plus one off the new CD.