Whenever I go to see a band, I think about fabric – let’s say cotton, just to get us away from the synthetics. The beauty of the blues community, perhaps better than any other in this town, is its ability to keep that thread vibrant and strong, mostly to the edges. If you have gotten this far into our special blues issue of Playback St. Louis, you will know what I am talking about.

The Bottoms Up Blues Gang (also known as BUBG or the Gang) is a trio made of Jeremy Segel-Moss, Kari Liston, and a third player to be revealed sometimes the night of the show. The harmonica spot, previously filled by Adam Andrews, is filled by a rotating list of some of the best musicians in St. Louis. Though this particular Saturday night was a recording night (for their next album), the feel, for the most par, was like any other BUBG show.

There is a warmth that generates from the stage and makes the listener feel enveloped in the proceedings; participation is not an option. A lot of this comes from Kari Liston. As a front "man," she is the perfect object of attention and affections. She comes across as that big sister you always wished you had – too cool by far, but so funny that the coolness is not threatening – someone that you want to be around. When she opens her mouth to sing, what pours out is a pure bassy tone that you know is going to mellow into perfect honey with time. Although Liston is in her 20’s, she sounds like a singer who has been around for much longer. Her voice on this particular night was a bit hoarse due to the intense schedule of the last week, but that just gave it a little more edge and added a little more emotion to a delivery that reeks of emotion.

Jeremy Segel-Moss is the tireless member of the band, always making sure that every detail is just right and every person in the room is acknowledged by the end of the night. He is this ball of energy (and crazy hair) throughout the evening. However, when he picks, he leans over his guitar and focuses all that energy into those six strings. He creates the solid tracks on which the Gang lives. Rounding out the Gang is the harmonica position filled originally by Adam Andrews, who is now playing with the band only occasionally. Gladly, he was there Saturday night to add the textured highs and sad wallowy lows that his harmonica ably offers. On any given night, you can find any one of a dozen artists filling the third (and sometimes fourth) spot, including John Erblich, Matt Murdick, Eric McSpadden, Sharon Foehner and many more.

The Saturday night show (as well as the previous night) was the celebration of two years as a group, as well as an opportunity to get some live tracks down for their follow-up to South Broadway Blues. The fabric was displayed in vivid detail on Saturday night, with guest performers Bennie Smith, Eric McSpadden, and Sharon Foehner representing the strong center and the Bottoms Up Blues Gang filling out the edges, perfectly and with the intention of some day being that middle. This is the beauty of the blues in St. Louis. It is an art that demands respect for tradition, but urges its participants to go and find their own sound. The Gang personifies what it is to be blues musicians in this town, and they do it with amazing grace and skill.

--Jim Dunn

Playback St. Louis (Sept.03)