Good girl goes badder (12 photos)

Patti Good and the Big Bad Band were not bad at all.

In fact, they were really, really good.

Saturday night at Loplops saw the triumphant return of Patti Good and (formerly) the Bads, now appropriately named the Big Bad Band.

During their two-year breather, the band grew from five to eight members as the cream of our local music crop clambered to be a part of this much-anticipated comeback.

Jay "Tugs" Case (bass and backing vocals), Frank "Arrest Me" Deresti (guitar, banjo and vocals), Frank Francis Joseph McCormick (drums), Rachelle "Face Maker" Deresti (keyboards and backing vocals), Sheldon "Mittens" Jaaskelainen (fiddle and backing vocals), Andrew "Sweet Cheeks" Muncaster (guitar and vocals) and Lindsay "Slippery" Pugh (pedal steel) may seem a bit of overkill to back up the tiny, barefooted singer Patti Good.

But after witnessing the impressive chemistry and stunning harmonies of the Big Bad Band, the loss of even one member would be a tragedy as they made it painfully obvious they loved being on stage together.

And while Patti Good may be just a wee thing, her voice certainly is not and "Arrest Me" Deresti felt a big band would be the best way to accompany those powerful lungs.

Tales of redemption and sin permeated their set list which covered everything from outlaw to gospel.

Most impressive was their a cappella third set opener Down to the River to Pray, sung as all eight members of Patti Good and the Big Bad Band marched through the bar to the stage.

Although they play mostly cover tunes, The Highway is an original written by "Arrest Me" Deresti performed for the first time Saturday night and was very well received by an enthusiastic audience.

I have been informed by Ms. Good herself that the Big Bad Band plans on writing more originals but still keep most of their most popular covers in their set list.

Old favourites like Jackson, Keep on the Sunny Side, John Henry, Blue Moon of Kentucky and I Saw the Light delighted a packed house, proving the recent resurgence of country/roots music is here to stay.

And hopefully so are Patti Good and the Big Bad Band.