Pete Devine Is a Blowhard

Doctor, put down that ether vaporizer and give us another shot of "party music for hard times" — make it a double, and don't be stingy. Taking the old-timey revival up another notch, Devine's Jug Band's new album, Terrible Operation Blues, features Mayumi Urgino and Meredith Axelrod on fiddle and vocals, and stars bandleader Pete Devine not only on jug but also on washboard, vocals, and "cheek-o-phone," aka mouth percussion. (Our big question about the local Americana scene remains, Whose destiny is it to be the Mission District's first hambone superstar?) The levels of authenticity and talent here are high, and the title track is an original classic that sounds like it could score an old Betty Boop cartoon. You can practically see Betty putting her little hands to her cheeks and crying "Oooh noooo!" At the recent SF Jug Band Festival, Devine's chutzpah hotcha inspired glam swing-blues queen Lavay Smith to form Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Jug Band, also performing tonight.

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Quinn DeVeaux opens.
Mon., Nov. 23, 8 p.m., 2009