Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies
Raging River Café & Club – Fall City, WA
January 14, 2006

Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin' Daddies

I drove out to Fall City last night to check out Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies, and I’m here to tell you that they had the Raging River Café & Club rockin! If you haven’t seen these guys yet, do yourself a favor and get down to the nightclub to do so – you won’t be sorry!

The band (Becki Sue – vocals, Tom Boyle – guitar/vocals, Jim King – tenor sax/harp/vocals, Les White – acoustic bass/vocals, and Jeff Hayes – drums) did a cool mixture of all types of blues, original tunes, and an occasional old rock tune, such as Don and Dewey’s “Farmer John.” These guys have got it goin’ on – the band is very good as a four piece with both Jim and Les very good on lead and harmony vocals, and plenty of smokin’ leads offered up by Tom and Jim.

The rhythm section was kicking, proven by the full dance floor on practically every song. And Les, to me, has this amazing facility on the acoustic bass. Most bands that feature this variety of tunes would have a bass player that doubles on electric and acoustic bass, but Les does it all on the acoustic. Oh yeah, and for good measure, he occasionally plays it horizontally or behind his head, like a guitar player.

The band did a few tunes at the beginning of each set, and then brought vocalist Becki Sue to the bandstand. I dig Becki Sue’s thang – she has a tough, aggressive style, but avoids the full-throttle Janis Joplin shouting that many female blues vocalists get caught up in. The band was very supportive when Becki Sue was on stage, and some of the song she did featured three-piece harmony parts. What a concept!

Part of my mission this night was to check the club out because my band has a gig there next week. The new owners (Bo and Nina) have done some remodeling, and now there is more seating in the nightclub. The club was full of music fans that were having a blast listening and dancing to the band, on a night when it was threatening to snow outside. I’m looking forward to my band’s gig at the Raging River next week.

Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies – Great musicians, great material, great show. Go see ‘em!

The Raging River Café & Club is located at 33723 SE Redmond - Fall City Road in Fall City (425-222-6669).