Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds is the grooviest thing since shiny spinning balls, and they're on tour now http://www.sistersparrow.com/tour/. Their sound slides along the spectrums of jazz, soul, and funk, and it's always high on all three. Eight musicians + seductive soulful singer/dancer crammed onto stage illuminate the room with vibrations reminiscent of what some imagined R&B in the 70s could have been. Sax, trumpet, trombone and a box of harmonicas rock the wind section on left. All four were evidently talented, but the harmonica player, the singer's little brother, was better than any I've ever seen. Boot stomping, train blowing, hair swinging solos compare to anything I've heard from the Yardbirds or other blues rock legends. Incredible.
His sister was equally impressive as lead singer. She's a small girl, but she puts out a deep, Franklin-ish voice that demands respect and sets the tone for the music perfectly. Apparently they're a fairly new band, but I can see a pretty bright future for them, they're fun enough to become popular, and might pick up more than just the hipster crowd, having already opened for acts like Dr. John. I should also mention the lead guitarist, who is obviously intelligent and loves to experiment with new sounds on the instrument. His addition to the music was always interesting but sometimes just too fast for the mood of the rest of the band.
They take their crowd back to an especially high energy night in the 70s (back when harmonica players were good), with an experimental approach to some old fashioned grooves that pegs them squarely in our decade.
