Hot City Cats

Lounge & Smoking Room Tuesday 3 March.

There are some nights in Wellington when you're wandering home along a wet and windy street late at night. You've been to a movie or a play and all the pubs are shut. Suddenly you are struck by a vision: a dark room, a series of tables, a few drinks and a good live jazz band playing up a storm. But alas it vanishes like the wind whistling up Boulcott St.

Well, maybe you aren't afflicted by such visions, but sometimes I think it's a pity that there's nowhere casual you can go late at night and enjoy a bit of jazz (or maybe I move in the wrong circles). Those who stayed in the Union Building after Slick Stage and the Topp Twins on Tuesday night got a taste of what it could be like. The Hot City Cats, a local Wellington band, were in fine form in the Lounge and Smoking Room.

For about two and a half hours they soothed and delighted an appreciative audience. The Lounge and Smoking Room is an ideal size for this sort of thing. The place is big enough for people to talk down the back and small enough to create an intimate atmosphere.

With drums, base, piano, violin (with a real Stephane Grappelli type sound) guitar, sax and female vocalist, the Hot City Cats have the scope and versatility to play a number of jazz styles. Most notably they play quite a bit of traditional 1920's jazz. This music is, to say the least, wacky and the lyrics brilliantly banal. I kept expecting a cigarette holder-waving woman with lipstick lips to suddenly appear doing the Charlston. (Unfortunately they are all probably in old folks homes by now and listening to John Rowles on the Sunday old folks requests. Quite sad really).

The Hot City Cats also play more modern stuff just as competently, as well as a few really cruisy bluesy numbers. The saxophonist was the only one to get a cheer for his solos but I thought the pianist was just as good.

Half way through the evening the Hot City Cats took a break and Jon McLeary sang a few songs. Jon McLeary was half of last year's Negative Theatre. Unfortunately his very intense original songs didn't really suit the warm atmosphere and I think he found it quite difficult to perform. The songs worked much better in the cold Negative Theatre format.

The Hot City Cats came back for another set and played until about 1.30am. They could easily have played another hour without anyone leaving. We had a strange situation; with half the band too tired to go on and the other half helping the audience in calling for an encore. Altogether, a great late night session. I would recommend the Hot City Cats to anyone, especially late at night.

Andrew McCallum