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The Kid & Nic Show

"Goin' Downtown"

Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro © April 2010

Although they'll answer to Mr. and Mrs. Tracy or Kirk and Nicole, these two swingers are better known as "Kid & Nic". Having had successful individual careers before meeting, things still seem to be on the up "swing" for this sax and singer duo. With "Goin' Downtown" being their fourth release, it's obvious that the family that sings, dances and parties together is the family that's successful together.

The Kid & Nic Show perform regularly as a five piece band and on this project, a compilation of songs from their previous three releases, they are joined by a tremendous - in quality as well as quantity - supporting cast. Joining Kid on saxophones, harmonica and vocals, and Nic on vocals are: Kevin Slagg, Bill Wiseman and Jay Carney on guitars; Josh Becker, Matt Meneged and David Wilson on bass; Jim Xavier, Jeff Stridde and Vince Brooks on drums; Tracy Longstreth on drums & keyboards.

The disc opens with what I'm sure Kid & Nic - and their audiences - often have..... "Nothin' But A Good Time". The lyrics make it obvious that it's their introductory number and it makes a hell of a first impression. The Kids' wailing away on sax, David and Vince - on bass and drums - have me already thinking they're going to be a tough act to follow on rhythm, and Nic's just havin' a ball with the vocals.

On "Rollin' Into Reno", one of the rhythm players has changed - and I'm still impressed - but the frantic pace hasn't . This is a quick three and a half minute track with Jeff at full throttle on drums from start to finish. With some harmony help from Nic, Kid excels on lead vocals.

This track could not have had a better name. "Mystify" is one of those slow sultry ballads which immediately paints a picture of a dark, cobblestone street on a foggy, rainy night in a mystery movie. This one's highlighted by Kid's equally sultry vocals and sax with slow, sullen rhythm and perfectly soft, smooth guitar coming from Tracy, Josh and Jay. The so called "icing on the cake" in this track was from a really good vibraphone patch on a keyboard that was very well done by Tracy. This is one incredible track, an original at that.

OK amateurs, now get off the dance floor and make room for the pros. "Motorhead Baby" is all out, full blown boogie at it's best. This one rips from open to close with Kid, Bill, Matt & Jim creating musical mayhem, while Nic - singing with lots of sass-itude, kicks it on vocals. Real good stuff right here.

There may be "Nothin' Romantic About L. A." but there's certainly something romantic with the way this track is done. With Dave and Vince setting the mood with a warm rhythm, Kevin's titillating guitar, Kid's provocative sax sounds and Nic's sensual vocals, this is one hell of a sexy sound.

Other tracks on "Goin' Downtown" include: "Come To Me", "The Chicken And The Hawk", "Hwy. 60", "Pull Through" and "Who Would Love This Car But Me?".

Check out The Kid & Nic Show by visiting them at www.kidandnic.com. That's where you'll be able to pick up a copy of "Goin' Downtown" so that just like Kid, Nic and their audiences do, you'll be able to have nothin' but a good time as well. And please, tell them the Blewzzman sent ya.

Peter "Blewzzman" Lauro

Blues Editor @ www.Mary4Music.com

Below is a review we recently received from a music critic in Croatia!

The Kid And Nic Show - "Goin Downtown"

Autor: Mladen Loncar - Mike, Cetvrtak, 29 Travanj 2010

Ocjena:

Ocjena citatelja:

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Angažmanom Nicole i Kirka Tracy dobio sam ovaj kompilacijski album koji su pod nazivom Goin' Downtown i pod imenom benda The Kid And Nic Show objavili pocetkom ove nove 2010. godine.

Kompilacijski album Goin' Downtown sadrži deset jednako kvalitetno ujednacenih kompozicija, koje se krecu u sferi r&b- a, r 'n' r-a, jazzyja i bluesa sakupljenih sa njihova prošla tri albuma. Pjevacica Nicole Tracy nošena sjajnom instrumentalnom, ali i vokalnom, pratnjom svog supruga Kirka Tracyja (saksofon, usna harmonika) jednostavno leti albumom. Naime, kada pišem o ovom albumu jednostavno se ne mogu oteti dojmu da slušam sjajan jump-blues, koji sa svojim efektnim jazzy bravurama doslovno osvaja ogromne kolicine poklonika svoje glazbe.

Album Goin' Downtown snimila je sjajna ekipa glazbenika, a oni su:

Kevin Slagg – gitara ( 1, 2, 5, 9), vokal (5)
Bill Wiseman – gitara (4,7,10)
Jay Carney – gitara (3,6,8)
Josh Becker - bas (3,6,8)
Matt Meneged - bas (4,7,10)
David Wilson – bas (1,2,5,9)
Tracy Longstreth – bubnjevi ( 3, 6, 8) klavijature (3,6)
Jim Xavier – bubnjevi (4,7,10)
Jeff Stridde – bubnjevi (2)
Vince Brooks – bubnjevi (1, 5,9)

U 35 minuta i 49 sekundi sakupljenog i prezentiranog sadržaja ove kompilacije The Kid and Nic Show otvoreno pokazuju da je utjecaj jump - bluesa i boogie – bluesa iznimno snažan, no, ono što je bitno i što obecava jest cinjenica da njihova glazba nije nikakva kopija, vec ovaj band ima izgraden svoj vlastiti, osebujni i bogati blues izricaj.

(Klikni na fotografiju za uvecani prikaz)

Sve ovo govori da se ne treba bojati za buducnost bluesa kao glazbenog stila jer glazbenici poput njih zalog su njegove svijetle buducnosti.
Kid and Nic su bracni partneri od 1997. Godine, a peteroclani band The Kid and Nic Show drma pravi swing, boggie – woogie, r'n'r, r&b, blues sa toliko veselja, energije i ritma da je to za poluditi. Što se tice njihovih nastupa oni nastupaju gdjegod ih se pozove, od elitnih pozornica, klubova, festivala, pa do malih klubova i barova. Za sebe vole kazati da sviraju Classic American Music.

Album Goin' Downtown je njihov cetvrti album, zapravo kompilacija the best of sa njihova prijašnja tri albuma. Stoga ni moja …

PREPORUKA...
…nece biti bitno drugacija od ozracja gore navedenog teksta: Na albumu Goin' Downtown nalazimo furiozne 'jump blues' teme, osjecajne balade, izuzetne r&b varijacije, sjajne jazzy fraze i stoga zaista ne vidim razloga zašto ne bi posvetili malo svoje pozornosti ovom izuzetnom bandu The Kid and Nic Show i ovom briljantnom best of albumu.
Album Goin' Downtown sigurno nece poklonike bluza ostaviti ravnodušnim, dapace svi ce odmah poceti udarati rukama u ritmu, a noge ce same voditi na plesni podij!

Nabavite što prije svoj primjerak i sami se uvjerite u isto.

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Popis pjesama:

01. Nothin' But A Good Time
02. Rollin' Into Reno
03. Mystify
04. Motorhead Baby
05. Come To Me
06. The Chicken And The Hawk
07. HWY. 60
08. Pull Through
09. Nothin' Romantic About L. A.
10. Who Would Love This Car But Me

The FREE Internet Magazine - All news BLUES!

www.TheBluesBlast.com

March 4, 2010

Kid the player (saxophone) and Nic the actress met, fell in love, married, and formed a band. Kid is Kirk Tracy; Nic is Nicole Tracy. Their forte is Classic American Music. They play the House of Blues, casinos, special events; places not really conducive to blues. They have even performed on Food Nation with Bobby Flay which means that I have seen them because I have seen every episode of Food Nation.

Goin' Downtown is a compilation, a best of, of their previous three CDs. The band is also a compilation as the only constants on all of the tracks are Kid and Nic.

The opening track, Nothin' But A Good Time, is a good time boogie, swing number. Rollin' Into Reno is an upbeat country road song. Mystify is a slinky lounge noir written by Kid soon after meeting Nic. Motorhead Baby and HWY 60, are Johnny Guitar Watson songs that predate his funk era by 20 plus years. Come To Me is a slow pop ballad with nice sax solos. The Chicken And The Hawk is a classic 50s rock and roll by Leiber and Stoller. Pull Through sounds a lot like Johnny Otis Willie And The Hand Jive but it has nice jazz interludes through out. Nothin' Romantic About LA is a jazzy ballad about the darker side of Los Angeles. Who Would Love This Car But Me is the fourth road/car song on the CD. It's another upbeat country rock to end the CD.