Witch Baby, the Gentlemen of Four Outs, the Peculiar Pretzelmen at the Huntridge Tavern, Oct 18, 2015

Once again, the Huntridge Tavern played host/hostess to a night of diverse and cool music - thank you again to Kate, Amber, Arty and all of the Huntridge crew!

The evening opened with a short set by a new duo, Witch Baby, featuring two young ladies (Signe Kofoed and Psalm Indino), one electric guitar, fine songs and superior vocals. The sound is old-timey torch tunes - the one cover that they announced was by Patti Page - with a bit of an edge to the guitar and excellent harmonies. Described as "adorable" by at least one member of the audience, they have style and talent - a nice combination! I'm sure you will be seeing these gals around!

Up next was the Gentlemen of Four Outs, again featuring myself, so again I will simply say that we had another great time playing for the patrons of the HT, as we always do. Thank you to Nikki Ruffing for the photos!

The Peculiar Pretzelmen returned to the Huntridge for another round with the Gentlemen. Their last visit was in June, on their Everything Must Be Broken tour, where they garnered quite a number of new fans, along with the folks who already knew them from their time with Soda and His Million Piece Band. They already have another terrific CD out, Who Brought the Serpent Down, and are touring to promote that. Of course there had to be some adventure on this stop, so the freeway AND the detour were closed for their drive into town, but they persevered and made it to the bar with minutes to spare!

PP started things off with their take on the swampy classic "Marie Laveau" and ran through a number of songs from their previous CDs, several from the new one and classics like "Tom Dooley", "So Long, It's Been Good to Know Ya" and more. The homemade instruments - banjo and ukulele made from film canisters, crazed, found apparatus made into percussion gadgets - mixed with classic pieces like the more traditional drum gear and the old Gibson mandocello, along with the various effects boxes, give the duo a unique and full sound. As I said before, I get a Tom Waits feel from their sounds, but they certainly have their own twisted spin on it all.

Everyone who sees them are sold on them - definitely check them out the next time they come through your area and pick up their CDs - you won't be disappointed!

BTW - drummer Deacon has apparently been nominate for a Grammy for his percussion work on another project - he and Kevin should get one for the PP, as well!