Puss 'n Boots, Pronto at the Mercury Lounge

Last night, I caught an unusual bill at the Mercury Lounge featuring a pair of side projects. First up was Norah Jones's all-female cover band, Puss 'n Boots. Featuring Sasha Dobson on acoustic, drums and vox, Catherine Popper on bass and vox, and Ms. Jones on a Fender Mustang, the trio played a relaxed set of classic Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash and Doc Watson tunes, among other tasty covers. Midway through the set, we got a real treat when the girls invited Mikael Jorgensen from Wilco up to play a cover of his band's Jesus Etc. (click here for a clip of them performing the same tune at the Black Swan in Tivoli, NY this past February).

Jorgensen's side project, Pronto, was the second band on the bill. I've got to say, I wasn't very impressed with their performance but I've since gone back and listened to their tunes on myspace and I like them a lot more. The vocals are a little weak but the production is great. The horn parts on All is Golden are particularly choice.


MB and I have long been fans of Norah's "smoke 'n honey" voice since her first album came out in 2002 but watching her perform from 5 feet away made it clear just how good she really is. To her credit, though, she doesn't overpower her fellow band members. In fact, I think Ms. Dobson's demeanor, voice and musical prowess makes her the band's most entertaining member.

I do have to mention how stunning Ms. Jones is. As luck would have it, she was leaving the bar just as I was grabbing a few beers for my crew and I somehow managed to avoid making a complete fool of myself when I struck up a conversation with her. Thanks to Lawrence and Daniel for hooking us up with this awesome pic.