Victor Wainwright & The Wildroots
"Lit Up"
WildRoots Records
By Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro © September 2011

Between the many times I've gone to Memphis and the many times Victor Wainwright tours Florida, I have had the pleasure of seeing his live performances well over a dozen times. Inasmuch as he's become one of my favorite piano players and the fact that he always has nothing but top notch musicians in his band, the one performance of his that I'll always have a fond memory of is a solo Acapella performance he put on at Springing The Blues, in Jacksonville Beach, FL, this past April. It was the opening ceremony and Victor was given the honor of singing The National Anthem. He did honor to the song, which he was actually performing for the very first time, and his rendition was wonderfully soulful. You can hear it right here..... www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0JkdSmWWrQ

"Lit Up" is the second release for Victor Wainwright & The Wildroots and with the exception of the drummer, the rest of the band are all returning veterans. Backing up their front man - Victor Wainwright, on piano and vocals are: Stephen Dees on bass, acoustic guitar and percussion; Greg Gumpel on electric and Resonator guitar; Patricia Ann Dees on tenor sax and backing vocals; Billy Dean on drums; and Ray Guiser on tenor sax and clarinet. Guest musicians on this project include: Charlie DeChant on tenor & baritone sax, saxcello and clarinet; Mark "Muddyharp" Hodgson on harmonica; Chris Stephenson on Hammond B3 organ; Bob Dionne on trombone; Ken Titmus on trumpet; and the Little Pups (Chickie Baby, Cat Daddy, Six String, AreBe and Houndog Man) on backing vocals. The disc contains all original music penned by Stephen and Victor.

Wasting no time at all, the band jumps into full swing on the opening notes of the opening track and after that there's no looking back. Sounding like an out of control locomotive, Charlie's got that big baritone leading the rhythm section at full throttle. Without it slowing down to pick them up, Victor and Greg just jump right on and before you know it the piano and guitar are up to speed and all hell's breaking out. This is the kind of stuff that could turn a first time listener into a full time fan. Oh yeah, the song is titled "Big Dog's Runnin' This Town" and it features the Little Pups backing up the big guy on vocals.

On "Subliminal Criminal" you'll think Victor and his Krewe are performing on a passing by Mardi Gras float. This is real good ol' N'awlins honky tonkin' at it's finest. It features Bourbon Street type barrelhouse piano playing, Dixieland style horns and lots of howlin' and growlin' vocals. Throw me some beads, please!

From the sounds of this swingin' shuffle, I'm sure there's a lot of dancing going on at the "Little Ole Shack" up on the hill. Why there's even some going on right now at the House of Blewzz. This is the kind of song I rate by it's number of replays and trust me, there are going to be many. Victor's at his best on vocals, and the harmonizing between him and Patricia on the chorus lines is perfect. Just lock us in the little ole shack and throw the key away.

Quick! Get Victor some change. His "Coin Operated Woman" has taken everything he's got. Too bad he can't switch her over to run on rhythm, 'cause there's enough of it goin' on here to keep her running for a real long time. Stephen and Billy are on fire here and with Ray pushing them along on the tenor, this one totally rips.

I can think of worse things to step in, but Victor sounds quite down and out over stepping into a "Pile Of Blues". On this track the band goes from one extreme to another while sacrificing absolutely nothing along the way. Stephen and Greg on the acoustic and Resonator guitars compliment each other perfectly, Billy and Mark on the drums and harmonica are providing a precision soft rhythm, and Victor - borrowing some soul from the Doctor and a bit of growl from Satchmo, are amazing together on this perfectly done acoustic track. This is song of the year material if I've ever heard it.

Imagine the conversation in the huddle of a football game where the team with the ball has 3 seconds left, they're 80 yards from the goal line and they need a touchdown to win. The quarterback would obviously tell his best players to run as far and as fast as they can, right? "Honky Tonk Heaven" is that game, Victor is that quarterback and his players are all going all out. This one seriously rocks.

Other tracks that will light you up on "Lit Up" include: "Ting Tang Bang", "Walk Away My Blues", "Our Last Goodbye", "Dixie Highway", "Weeds", "Lit Up", "Don't Doubt It 'ce est bon", and "Let It Be The Same".

To learn more about Victor and the band and to sample & buy some of their music, stop by www.wildrootsrecords.com. Please make sure you tell him his buddy the Blewzzman sent ya.