Maurice Tani, Jenn Courtney & 77 El Deora

At the core are the sparring male and female vocals of Jenn Courtney and songwriter Maurice Tani, framed with Steve Kallai's sweet fiddle, Tani's guitar work, Mike Anderson's slappin', clankin', doghouse, bull-fiddle, acoustic bass, and the virtuous, ethical, thoroughly "drummy" drumming of drummer Christopher Fisher. The sound is sometimes breathy acoustic, sometimes searing electric, sometimes both.

Though the spotlight dances the width of the stage, singer Jennifer Courtney is the primary, recurring focus of attention. Her larger-than-life presence and luxurious, full-sized voice animate the material with personal spark. Alternately strong, vulnerable, sexy and funny, she brings a full palette of color to the songs. Dark and lush, even when the lyric is light, her rich voice delivers a tender kiss on the lips and a startling punch in the gut with successive breaths. If Jenn Courtney sings these songs as if they were written for her, it's because they were.

With Courtney as his muse and central character, songwriter/guitarist Maurice Tani has constructed a repertoire full of dry irony and dark humor. The songs are twangy ruminations ranging from rye to romantic. Tender to aggressive. Sexy to... well, actually Jenn Courtney is always sexy.

Smart, original, neo-noir honky tonk in the classic rhythms and themes of western America: cheatin', lyin', drinkin', dyin', broken hearts, shattered dreams, bright twangy guitars and the Ray Price shuffle..