Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
THE BLUES came home to roost at Redbones, The Blues Café, on Friday night, and it brought some hard-hitting rock with it. Friday night featured a performance of the quartet Black Zebra who delivered a few original pieces and a slew of classic songs from both genres.
Black Zebra features Wayne McGregor (guitar and vocals), Mark Pritchett (guitar and vocals), Dale Brown (bass) and Richie Cunningham (drums). The performances were beautifully enhanced by McGregor's wit which often crept into the songs as he often slipped in his own lyrics or dropped in a few words after a song.
During the first set of their performance, Black Zebra stuck close to the heart of the blues delivering pieces such as The Thrill is Gone and Jimi Hendrix' Hey Joe. They also delivered pieces originating from New Orleans, in tribute to the heartland of the blues now saturated with stagnant, oil-slicked, toxin-filled waters left in Hurricane Katrina's wake. J.B. Lenois' You Shoot Me was in that category.
Their performance truly began to rock, however after the break when the ear-shaking volume became more suited to the genre. The change from the blues to its descendant, rock, was smoothly introduced by Muddy Waters' The Blues Had a Baby.
ANATOMICAL DESCRIPTION
This was smoothly followed by Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall which, towards the end, was made to take a side swipe at the Jamaica Public Service as McGregor replaced "We don't need no education" with "We don't need no higher light bill" and then gave an anatomical description of the utility company's recent increase.
The musical gears were shifted even higher as With or Without You, Purple Rain, and Knocking on Heaven's Door. Then Rupert Bent Jr. was called to the stage for a guest performance with McGregor. This led to a performance of Come Together (Over Me) that ended in a battle of the guitarists (which somehow included a drinking glass being used to play a riff) and culminated in the anthem of the United States.
With Johnny Be Good McGregor relinquished his guitar and the fiery licks of the rock and roll classic brought some patrons to their feet. Ray Charles' What'd I Say kept the energy high, and once again McGregor snuck in his own lyrics slipping in talk of yanking out weaves and avoiding HIV.
Born to be Wild and Free Bird should have brought the night to a terrific close, but the audience would have none of it. Even after Black Zebra's encore it was still not over. Andrew McIntyre, Rupert Bent Jr., Cunningham and Andrew Donalds then delivered a short set. Though Donald began the piece as McIntyre's backup vocals, the audience requested he deliver Michelle before he left.
And still, more was yet to come. By then, midnight had arrived and with it Pritchett's birthday. So a blues-laden version of Happy Birthday To You mixed with You Still Gonna Die was delivered, effectively bringing the night to a close.
