Eilen Jewell is Beyond Delightful

Eilen Jewell and her astounding band wrinkled the rug and rocked the stage soon after Amy Black’s opening set. Eilen is not only the Queen of the Minor Key, but a queen of songwriting. Her catchy, rockin’ songs have clever lyrics, and could probably lure the most introverted and demure librarian to cut loose on a table top.

Jerry Miller is an electric drill of a guitar player, who outdid himself on the song, “Shakin’ All Over”, with riffs interjected from “The Twilight Zone”, “Day Tripper”, “Paint it Black”, and other tunes my brain cells couldn’t process fast enough to recognize. Blazing bassist, Johnny Sciascia, was the quintessential hepcat of calling out, “One, two, a-one, two, three FO’”, and Jason Beek’s drumming was hypnotic, and pelting as a hurricane.

It came to our attention that Eilen and Jason have been married for three and a half years, and what delightful news that was to find out. She mentioned that the band has been touring for seven years. It occurred to me that having that cute, little girl right in from of him while he was drumming must have been a great inspiration for Jason’s love.

This was my second time seeing Eilen – here's a link to my first review:

Eilen Jewell Knocked My Socks Off!

Boy, she knows how to put on a show. Her voice is like honey, but what my husband and I found so endearing was her down-to-earth sense of humor and effusive warmth. She moves in a cute way while she sings too, such as during her tribute song for Cupid, “Bang, Bang, Bang.” She sorta has little dance moves like the Supremes for various songs – a little finger waving here, a little head wiggle there.

Her compositions are so good. There are layers of energy and romance in songs such as “Too Hot to Sleep”:

"It’s getting late, they’re closing their doors
Let’s go upstairs and dance some more
The words left unsaid can be told in time
You’ve gone to my head like sweet moonshine"

There's beauty and longing in her poetry too, such as in the haunting song, “Santa Fe”:

"The mountain towns burned red
Consumed by a sunset
I'd be happy disappearing under colors like that"

A couple of years back they produced a CD honoring the great Loretta Lynn, entitled Butcher Holler. We got to hear Eilen’s interpretation of Loretta’s playful song, “You can give me a lift (but I’m not going that far).” The song was probably written in the sixties and was full of innuendo.

I cannot stress enough – do not miss this band if they come to your town! Eilen has a funny, adorable stage presence, is a first-rate singer and the band is a rockabilly octopus of sound – one body moving in a wild flow of beat and soul. Her CD, Queen of the Minor Key, has taken up permanent residence in my car’s CD player. I don’t leave home without it!

One Longfellow Square probably had to hire carpenters to re-enforce their stage after the show – it took such a beating. Visit her website, buy CD’s and keep track of her touring schedule. My friends, mark the date on your calendar and buy all of your friends tickets, you will not be sorry! Hey Eilen, here's a request. Have you ever thought of doing a cover of "Love Potion Number Nine"? I think it would go well with one of your hot medleys!

Visit her website at eilenjewell.com.