Big Lazy with the Sin Eaters - Backstage Bar and Billiards, Sunday April 9, 2017

I was planning on hitting this happenin' simply because the Sin Eaters were playing and when I found out about Big Lazy (who I was not familiar with previously), I made the extra effort to get downtown for the big event.

The Sin Eaters are the latest incarnation of the blues-blastin' Lucky Cheats, now with the cool-cat, stand-up bassist Chris Davis backing drummer extraordinaire Larry Reha, guitar wiz Wade Braggs and harp master Jeffrey Koenig. This was only their second show, but since everyone has worked together in some form or another in the past, they are already a dynamite machine, ready to take over the town. They are mostly doing covers these days - they just haven't had the time to write new material - but their interpretations are entertaining as hell and filled with damn fine playing! They tackle "Skinny Woman", "King Bee" (a really different take on it propelled by poundin' drums), "I Don't Owe You a Thing", with super heavy, over-driven guitar, "You Don't Love Me", "Shake Your Hips" (a dynamic, building jam with Wade singing), Little Richard's "Leaving in the Morning" (kinda like "I Put a Spell on You" with guitar/harp duets, quiet parts, Jeffrey playing harp just through the vocal mic for a change, "Can I Spend the Night With You" (another Wade vocal) and a lap steel workout of "Rollin'n'Tumblin'". Damn fine, super-fun band and some of the best players in town!

Our host, Brian Moy, being MC, as well as promoter:

Big Lazy's Stephen Ulrich currently does sound track work for HBO, as well as fronting this jazzy, film-noir-ish three piece. Backed by a fairly exceptional stand-up bassist (who would sometimes bow the bass to great effect) and DJ Bonebrake-ish drummer, Stephen uses odd tunings on his odd guitars (a cool old Mosrite, Gretsch, and something I didn't recognize), employs tasteful usages of tremelo, reverb, echo and dynamics, and combines jazzy sounds, chicken-pickin', bluesy licks, slide guitar, tuneful lap steel and lots more for his unique sound. Originals like "Avenue X", "Dream Factory" and "Princess Nicotine", combine with covers like John Lennon's "Girl" (where the bowed bass gave a tuba-like percussion and they all joined in for a heavily dynamic bridge) to fill out the set with moody, instro goodness. Being a work night, I split before the very end (even though it purposefully was an early show), but I thoroughly enjoyed the group and thought they were truly compelling live and much more engaging than the studio work that I had heard. Well worth checking out and I hope that they return to Vegas!

Once again a big thanks to Brian Moy for promoting another great gig and thanks to the Triple B for hosting the night.