Ginger St. James and The Grinders heat up the Casbah
- Dev Team
- 07 Sep 2014
Ginger St. James knows how to put on a show.
Actually, what she does is more of an extravaganza.
Despite the rain and thundering skies, people packed The Casbah Lounge for the CD release party for Diesel and Peas, Ginger’s latest album. It might have been the weather, the extended stage, or maybe the hollow body guitars all over the stage, but the night had special vibe. It was wild and entertaining, but that seems to be the norm for a Ginger St. James and the Grinders show.
Comedian Larry Smith hosted the night and opened with a few jokes. Smith went off on the not-so-sweet old ladies you find working at Tim Horton’s, and the overall un-sexiness of the chain’s uniforms. His animated performance and elastic facial expressions drew laughs from the early crowd.
Rockabilly band Be-Bop DeVille, clad in work shirts and slicked-back hair, played the first set. Their sweetly reverb-drenched guitar sounds and walking bass lines had the crowd drawn to the front of the stage and dancing along to their 50’s-style tunes. Even though they were working with a new drummer, it didn’t stop them from lighting up the stage.
Before Ginger St. James and the Grinders took the stage for the second set, Smith told a few more stories and jokes, but tackling topics like binge drinking and oral sex. Again, his expressions and movements hilariously pushed each joke to a higher (or lower) level. He capped off his routine with a dirty version of “Little Red Riding Hood” starring Jack Nicholson as the wolf. You had to be there to hear it.
With fiery red hair, a short dress, and cowgirl boots, Ginger St. James stormed onto the stage and sang “Please Mr. Driver”, the first track from Diesel and Peas. From there, St. James brought “all kinds of country” in house, strumming her acoustic guitar and singing tracks from the album. To accentuate each performance, St. James brought along friends to bring out the heart of each tune. D’Arcy Good from The Good Family played fiddle with the Grinders. For the sexier tunes from her Spank, Sparkle and Growl album, she had friends from Great Canadian Burlesque perform on the extended stage, not that tracks like “Boom Boom Room” needed to get any sexier.
Though St. James commands the centre of the stage with her voice and vibrant look, she often took time to give her band credit and even a few bars for solos. Guitarist Heel Slim and keyboardist Greg Brisco often traded solos mid-song. For their encore, Ginger St. James and the Grinders cranked out some covers, including a roaring rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”.
It seems a little strange for the main attraction to take the second set and not close off the night, but St. James let The Vaudevillian, a folk blues duo, end the evening. This is easily one of the coolest acts I’ve ever seen. Featuring Brendan Stephens on vocals, guitar and a “carzoobamaphone,” and Willow Walker on vocals and washboard percussion, the duo played tracks from their recently released Salty Dog album. They set up an open briefcase on the extended stage with their band info and a spot for tips like turn-of-the-century travelling musicians. Stephens’ stomping foot and emphatic yelps made for a captivating performance as the night rolled to a close.
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