Painted Betty performing. (Photo: paintedbetty.com)

“Painted Betty’s” performance at Dixon Place on Friday, March 23rd was really something. First of all, Dixon Place is basically a bar, which is the stereotypical place to see a band that is not well known. Secondly, the band was phenomenal. They played songs from all different genres, such as rock, country, and even jazz. If music genres were a road map then they went from one end to the other that night. They played country songs, rock songs, and a song that reminded me of an Irish pub song. It was called “Damn Bastard,” and it was a rather uplifting song about getting off your ass and doing something with your life. They also played songs that were  of a hybrid genre: a country-like rock genre with a clarinet (played by David Rothenberg) thrown in.

Setting the changing genres aside, the band also sang in three different languages: Spanish, English, and French. Although I’m sure that most of the audience could not understand any lyrics except the English ones, they seemed to enjoy the French and Spanish songs just as much because they had a relaxing and flowing sound. Four of the six band members sang, but one of them (the saxophonist) only sang once. He also did not sing so much as “rapped.” He sort of spoke the lyrics in beat and pitch with the music, so it was not exactly rapping. The song that he “rapped” was about a red-tailed hawk. He basically told the story of its average day. The two women in the band were also singers and alternated singing with each song. The fourth singer was the guitarist who sang in both English and French. The band was very coordinated and executed each song very well. They did not have any “hiccups” when performing, except for when the clarinet player almost fell over while playing a solo, which made the music very enjoyable. Each band member played flawlessly and what appeared to be effortlessly. They had their parts down and played them without any problems. The band was incredible and I recommend seeing them.