Wes Phillips

Saturday night, Jeff Wong, my wife, and I went to see the Holmes Brothers at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater. Wowsers! State of Grace has been one of the most-played discs I bought in 2007, so we expected to be entertained.

We were completely knocked out. The Holmes Brothers came to play and within minutes of hitting the stage, Wendell Holmes, Sherman Holmes, and Popsy Dixon turned a bar full of jaded New Yorkers into a down-home tent meeting. They ended the set with a medley of "Amazing Grace," "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," and "Jesus on the Mainline" that had people speaking in tongues and testifying at the top of their lungs.

A true power trio, the HB's simply tore the place up. As they were wrapping up "Mainline," Wendell looked out at the audience and said, "Not too bad for old people, hey?"

No Wendell, not bad at all. After the show, one fan was raving about how Wendell had gotten wah-wah and peddle volume effects without using any pedals. "We old people don't get along with no pedals," Wendell deadpanned. Right.

If the Holmes Brothers play your town, you owe it to yourself to go see them. You will get on down that night.