British family band Kitty, Daisy & Lewis brings American music back to the States

July 7, 2009, at the Echo

By Erica Phillips
Published: July 9th, 2009 | 7:55pm

The occasional straw fedora or Buddy Holly–style pair of spectacles is not a rare thing to see at a rocknroll show in Los Angeles’ Echo Park. What was striking at Kitty, Daisy & Lewis’ debut in L.A. was the saturation of ‘50s fashion in the crowd — more than a few fans wore full-out poodle skirts and Sandra Dee ponytails, while their male counterparts sported fitted T-shirts tucked into high-waisted, pleated dress pants and wing-tipped shoes. As the crowd waited for the set to begin, there were even four straight-outta-Grease guys discussing car maintenance.

But this was all to be expected. Kitty, Daisy & Lewis play a very specific kind of American roots rock. Raised in a musical household in north London, the three siblings — Daisy is 21, Lewis 19, and Kitty 16 — were taken with swing, R&B, rockabilly, and Hawaiian music. Their father Graeme Durham’s recording studio provided them with access to all sorts of instruments, while their mother Ingrid Weiss (sometime drummer for The Raincoats) passed on the inherent sense of rhythm that comes through in the trio’s head-bopping ditties.

Since 2006, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis has garnered a strong following in the U.K., attracting attention from Coldplay’s Chris Martin who requested their company on the band’s summer’s tour. As exciting as the opportunity seems, it’s difficult to imagine a challenge more daunting for the young British trio than playing highly specialized, retro American music to giant stadium audiences of Coldplay fans in the States. Even at California’s cozy Echo club, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis’ mid-set number, “Hillbilly Music,” struck an odd chord when sung in Daisy’s charming British accent,

And that wasn’t the only odd moment of the night. The siblings were joined all evening by their parents — mom on upright bass and dad on acoustic guitar — lending a whole “family band” element to their stage presence. With Kitty’s punk-girl drumming, Daisy’s soulful harmonica playing, Lewis’ upper-lip snarl, and the way all three traded instruments and took turns at the mic, the show seemed as much a recital for proud mom and pop as it was for L.A.’s vintage-loving music crowd.

Dressed in her older sister’s fitted, red satin dress and looking a bit shy under the lights, Kitty surprised the audience with moments of beat-boxing brilliance and vocals that came straight from the gut. Lewis’ musical chops shone through as he played multiple instruments within the same song and proved his mastery of the California-style electric guitar in front of the most astute of locals. Leading lady Daisy was a gap-toothed Gwen Stefani-in-training, with a delightful babyish rocknroll timbre to her voice. All together they were fun, but their obvious potential lies in personal, less genre-specific pursuits.

The biggest disappointment of the night was the audience. Lively and supportive as the cheering was, their feet did not follow suit. You’d think swinging music, poodle skirts, and wing tips would guarantee some serious twisting and turning, even lifts. Ultimately it may be what didn’t work for Kitty, Daisy & Lewis.

On the radio, the trio’s singles play like the one-hit-wonder Ska hits of the ‘90s, where it is often as much the dancing fans as the music itself that’s worth seeing live. It will be interesting to see how Kitty, Daisy & Lewis fare with Coldplay audiences this summer, but their material can only be expected to get bigger and better — even if it means they each try working on their own for a while.

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For more photos from this show visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page

Kitty, Daisy & Lewis MySpace page