Photo: Tina Turnbow
Review by Rebecca M. Alvin
In 2019 when Lea DeLaria and her partners opened The Club, it was an exciting addition to the Provincetown club scene: a designated jazz club that served up great music and an eclectic dinner menu in a waterfront setting. The Club exudes that Provincetown vibe, even with its flashy bedazzled dance floor and pink decor, which DeLaria says reflects her great love of all things vaginal.
Most of the time, The Club has been able to offer live music in town just about every night of the week, with a range of local and visiting performers. But when Lea herself steps onto the stage, it’s a very special thing. However rough and blunt she may appear in her stand-up shows, her voice is smooth and she delivers lyrics in delicious phrasing with great band chemistry with Mike Flanagan on sax, Brad Conant on drums, Chris Grasso on piano, and Jon Evans on bass.
DeLaria has been performing every Friday night this fall, with a different repertoire each week, but the night I saw her, she was performing Great American Songbook selections from her 2008 album, The Live Smoke Sessions, such as “Down with Love,” “Miss Otis Regrets,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “Why Don’t You Do Right?” and “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” Although there are moments that bring to mind Ella Fitgerald and others who have sung these songs, there’s always a certain unique Lea DeLaria twist on it that just fills you with the joy jazz is meant to bring out.
I always look forward to seeing Lea perform because she is who she is—always. And who she is is an extremely talented performer who knows how to be herself one-hundred percent of the time. Her onstage banter is authentically Lea DeLaria, something that has become a rare commodity. To be authentically yourself on stage, in person, on the screen, and in any milieu is a quality we desperately need in these days of tip-toeing around touchy issues and hiding our uniqueness in favor of trends and groupthink. Don’t miss the chance to catch her act this Friday the 13th, as it may be the last one in town this year until New Year’s Eve.
Lea DeLaria will perform at The Club, 193A Commercial St., Provincetown on Friday, October 13, 9 p.m. Plans are also in the works for a New Year’s Eve show, to be announced shortly. For information, or tickets ($30) and dinner reservations (required), call 508.487.1527 or visit theclubptown.com.
