by Rick Winterson
Country & Western in South Boston? Why, certainly! Every Tuesday night, that is.
Plan a Tuesday drop in/hang out downstairs in the Supper Club at Capo Restaurant – 443 West Broadway, not very far from where Blinstrub’s sat for so many years. Combine eating (varied Italian/American dishes), with drinking (inventive designer cocktails), and original C&W (“Dalton and The Sheriffs”). And you know what? At Capo, there’s no admission or cover. Just show up Tuesday evenings and enjoy.
Let’s mention that Dalton and The Sheriffs’ performances contain mostly their own original music, from half or more up to the entire gig, depending on the gig’s length and audience responses. Why emphasize that fact? Two reasons – because audiences consistently ask them to play their own music, and Tuesdays at Capo bring you C&W by Dalton and The Sheriffs that you won’t hear anywhere else. In any medium!
Dalton and The Sheriffs have built up an impressive track record lately. They perform four or five nights a week all around Boston. Weekends see them in New York, Rhode Island, and out on Nantucket. The group is very busy; they are making ripples that are rapidly becoming waves. They have opened for many nationwide C&W groups and have performed at the CMA Fest, which they will appear at again this summer. And yes, they’ve been to Nashville, where they recorded their first album, “After the Parade”. All 12 tracks on this album are original with them, and bear titles like “Cheap Guitars”, “You Ain’t Her”, and “Orion’s Belt”.
Dalton and The Sheriffs is a quartet – Jonathan Silva (electric guitar), James Zaner (percussion), Sam Bouve (bass guitar), and lead vocalist Brian Scully (acoustic guitar, emphatic baritone). Think “classic” U-2 to begin with. Think also of country music, primary-colored by rock. All four band members take part in the vocals; their instrumental work is outstanding. Jon could play electric guitar anywhere. Sam on bass and Jim on drums interact and play off each other, setting up rock-solid support for the group.
In conversations with Brian Scully, who composes much of the band’s music, he points to influences like Hootie & the Blowfish, as well as a West Coast group called Counting Crows, who are unfamiliar to this writer. Google them up; they’re iconic. Brian himself had been teaching in local public schools, ultimately resigning his position as Assistant Principal in order to take his music and performances full-time. Speaking for himself, he says, “I have no regrets. I’m lucky that folks come to our shows … I drop my kids off at school every morning. My wife is a partner in this so it makes (it) more of a life adventure.”
So now you know: Country music, performed by Dalton and The Sheriffs, has indeed come to South Boston. Don’t miss them – see you Tuesday evenings at Capo.
