The Downtown Blues Collective at Fontana's

The Downtown Blues Collective is a quartet of musicians who play local music clubs together in the larger Dee Pop’s Private World and other bands. The collective’s lineup consists of Phil Gammage on vocals, guitar, harmonica; Don Fiorino on lap steel guitar; Richard Demler on bass and Dee Pop on drums.

At Fontana’s tonight, the Downtown Blues Collective was not a traditional blues band. It would be fairer to say that the band was rooted in blues and took the sound to many other places. Gammage, for instance, sang a spectacular baritone akin to Roy Orbison, and Fiorino led most of the flying instrumental breaks while sliding his hand over his lap steel guitar, not a common blues instrument. The band played several covers, including the Sir Douglas Quintet’s 1965 hit “She’s about a Mover,” and the original songs were much along the same vein. The band played a very enjoyable set of American roots music.