'Live in Atlanta' is NOW AVAILABLE! Please contact ONLY BLUES MUSIC distribution - onlybluesmusic@aol.com Here's a review of the gig as published in leading US blues publication 'Blues Revue' FIONA BOYES and FRIENDS - BLUE NOTE WEST - DOUGLASVILLE, GA "STEADY ROLLIN', LETS GO BOWLIN'!" quipped Bob Margolin as he connected his nick name to the venue's unusal location. It wasn't just that the the club was located in the lobby of a bowling alley down a rustic dead-end road; just as disconcertingly was that he, along with reed man Mark 'Kaz' Kazanoff, regional blues-rocker Forrest McDonald, and three members of Atlanta's up-and-coming Delta Moon had gathered in this sleepy Atlanta suburb to record Fiona Boyes' next release, a live album. Boyes, a 2003 International Blues Challenge winner, is based in Sydney, Australia, making this a gig a long way from home. Even most of the invited audience of about a hundred, many of whom lived within Atlanta city limits, had to fuel up and check MapQuest to find the place. Regardless, once everyone had arrived for the buffet, this joint could have been on Chicago's South Side. Even though the band couldn't fit on the stage, the mood was festive and the music flowed like the beer: cool, bubbly, and smooth. Boyes, who won her award as a solo act was recording predominantly electric tonight, with a band. (Still, out of four sets, the acoustic one with Margolin on electric guitar was the highlight.) Things started simply, with Delta Moon's "quarter ton of fun" rhythm section of Jon Schwenke and drummer JOhnny McKnight accompanying Boyes on a jazzy "Jelly Roll BLues". Boyes' tone was sparse and clean even while plugged in, eschewing the over-the-top histronics that typify much blues-rock. There were only smiles onstage throughout the night, lending a palpable sense that all the participants, even after minimal rehearsal time, were enjoying performing for each other and the appreciative audience. Kazanoff played acoustic harp on "Bulletproof" before picking up his tenor sax for the upbeat "Big Bigger Biggest". Boyes' between-song patter was friendly and comfortable, almost as if she were chatting with friends. "Stranger in your Eyes", a breakup ballad that sounded like a late-night stroll down a rain-drenched street and wouldn't have been out of place in a set by Bonnie Raitt, spotlighted Kazanoff's torchy solo. Boyes' malleable, scratchy-yet-smooth voice proved just as adaptable to deep blues as to more crossover-oriented material. Delta Moon pianist/vocalist Gina Leigh added her 88s to the rumba of "You Wonder Why Your Man Has Gone" and lit the place up with her duet on Sippie Wallace's "Women Be Wise". Guitarist McDonald ambled onstage - or, more accurately, in front of it - adding a solo to the Latin-sounding "Dark and Dangerous Love" and the good time "My Baby Cooks". The third set was the most intimate. Boyes stayed seated but stomped her foot on a milk crate with a pair of two-toned shoes as Margolin, standing to her right, cradled his shiny Gibson. Boyes played solo - sounding as authentic as Mississippi Fred McDowell - with Margolin adding lead flourishes. Kazanoff joined on harp for a rousing version of "Canned Heat Blues" that featured Margolin's trebly, trembling slide. The blues ran deep in this out-of-the-way hangout. And, not surprisingly, nobody took Margolin's advice and went bowling. - Hal Horowitz, Blues Revue