After fighting the traffic on biker Saturday I decided to do a review a little closer to home. Din Allen was playing at Sugarloaf Lodge's Tiki Bar. Din also plays regularly at the Pier House and the Conch Farm. I was very pleasantly surprised to find percussionist par excellence Quint Lange playing with him.
Din, Quint, and Woody Allen were the Survivors, the most popular band in Key West for many years. Woody moved away to the great frozen north, leaving these two survivors with us.
There is nobody like Din Allen. He plays marvelous acoustic guitar, though his main instrument is bass, and his singing is in the class with Dan Fogelberg. When we walked in they were playing Stevie Wonder's "Boogie On Reggae Woman". There was a drum machine for the basic beat, but Quint's congas made it fantastic. I loved Din and Quint's `do, do wops' on the ending. The atmosphere at the Tiki is relaxed and friendly.
Quint took a break while Din sang Bobby Blue Bland's wonderful "I'm Just Two Steps From the Blues". Din is one of the best singers anywhere, and blues are no challenge for him. His vocals are both sweet and sensuous, always thrilling.
A request for a Marc Anthony tune, "Di Nilo", had Din and Quint singing harmony in excellent Spanish. The bolero feel on the current Latin hit made me want to dance. Din even gave us some `Mt. Gay Horns'. He and Woody used to do a vocal horn imitation that was wonderful. Even with just one horn, it was fun. Din had a contest with his fourteen year old son to see who could learn a twenty first century song first. Din won. We loved, "Follow Me, " everything is all right'. Quint's easy congas set it off to perfection.
We were all feeling a bit gloomy following the week's horrific events. Din sang Bob Dylan's "We Shall Be Released", poignantly. Quint's sweet harmony was appreciated. Next we heard a nice change of pace with John Sebastian's "What a Day For a Daydream" with Quint playing the rims of the congas with sticks for that necessary ricky tick feel. Din gave us some whistling and more Mt. Gay Horns.
The next request was my favorite song from Din Allen's repertoire, the Beatles' "Things We Said Today". Nobody sings it this well. It is spooky and modal. Quint provides delicious harmony. Din and Quint share what I consider to be the greatest thing a musician can have, taste. Both play exactly what works. Neither ever overplays, which takes a great deal of talent. They worked out a couple of arrangements in a matter of seconds. Din plays chordal melodies sometimes. This is a truly romantic sound.
Carribean chestnut, anyone? Why not? Din and Quint sing, "I love the way you dance the soca, the way you boogie woogie," etc., which had the delighted audience doing trills and Latin bird calls. I can't reccomend Din Allen enough. Catch him in town. With or without Mr. Lange, he's superior. If you're lucky enough to hear both of them you can thank me! Stay cool.