One of the most recognizable vocals in Canada, Darby Mills Project rocked the roof of the Rock Pile
She has kept her vocal chords in phenomenal shape, still possesses that raspy lyrical mezzo/contralto combination ramping from mid-low range to those beautifully strong and mighty powerful high notes reaching stratospheric proportions! Darby put together a strong lineup of musicians who have worked their tales off for years and years and years. Darby stated, she was proud to showcase her 4 talented instrumentalists, “drummer/vocalist Ed Cliffe, bassist Ricky Renouf who is a lead vocalist in his own right, guitarist/vocalist Randy Gabel is so gifted & I have a solid keyboardist Doug Rasmussen.”
“These talents have ridden beside me the last year and a half, against so many odds. I am so grateful that they came to mind and rallied to be a wonderful team, it’s a pleasure to me, our story is wonderful,” stated Darby Mills.
They took us on a roller coaster ride thru Darby’s rock n roll career, with classic Headpins hits ‘Don’t It Make You Feel’ and ‘Turn It Loud’ (1982 Turn It Loud), ‘Just One More Time’ & ‘Feel It’ (1983 Line of Fire) & ‘Staying All Night’ (1985). She showcased her original hits like ‘Want It,’ ‘Run,’ ‘Hot Water,’ ‘Cry To Me,’ ‘Bad Bad Boy’ with her recent release ‘Monkey,’ all these fantastic hard rock songs were remastered from her 1991 Darby Mills and The Unsung Heroes – ‘Never Look Back’ Album now entitled ‘Flying Solo.’
Priceless moments for me was witnessing her pay homage to 3 wonderful women in music history, that she admired and who were instrumental in creating her voice.
Darby passionately perfected Janis Joplin’s ‘Another Little Piece of My Heart,’ Kiki Dee’s 1974 hit ‘I Got the Music In Me’ right into Carol King’s song that Aretha Franklin made famous (You Make Me Feel Like a) ‘Natural Woman’ thus proving Darby is a versatile performer that has different arrows within her quiver to work with. The encore caught me by surprise, a powerful ending, with a Nazareth cover, ‘Now Your Messing With’ (Son of a Bitch.) Age has no bearing on talent and nearing 58, Darby Mills is proving it can be done.
When music is your soul, your breath, and your life, there is no way anyone can stop you from following your heart’s passion~MUSIC!
Over all, Darby Mills Project truly put forth an awe inspiring concert.
Hurry don’t delay scoot on over to their website at http://www.darbymills.com and pick up a ticket to future shows in a town nearest you.
