Las Vegas CityLife Pick Of The Week
Pick of the week
MON.AUG.28
For most bands, the term “country” needs a modifier, things like “alternative,” “insurgent” or, the most bland of all, “new.” Ruby Dee Philippa isn’t a fan of modifiers. Not that the Seattle singer is some grammar diva who has decided that adverbs are the descriptive nectar of Satan, or that a dangling modifier constitutes a sin against nature. She just doesn’t have a need for them. She plays country — nothing more, nothing less. The kind that folks like Patsy Cline and Bob Willis helped launch, the kind that requires a 30 year-old pick-up, two exes and three DUIs to truly appreciate. Basically — and I’m sorry about this, Ruby — “real” country.
Which, these days, is harder to find than TomKat’s baby. Most groups want to spice their twang with hints of punk, psychedelia or 100-proof whiskey. But Philippa and her band, Ruby Dee and the Snakehandlers, prefer their country straight up. And they seem to have no problem tracking down folks who like it that way, too. The quintet has been voted the Best Signed Band for two years running in NWsource.com’s annual poll. Critics are gobbling up the group’s debut, North of Bakersfield. Even the hipsters of Seattle flock to the band’s shows. And all that’s sans modifier — just the way Philippa likes it.
Jeff Inman, popularink@hotmail.com
