01/03/2025

My Baby – Double Whammy: February 28, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Dutch/Kiwi trio My Baby brought their Acoustic Blues Club Tour to Auckland proving that their brand of voodoo blues is as vibrant as ever, more than a decade after they formed and just months away from their next studio album.

Despite being based in Amsterdam, the band has been a constant visitors to New Zealand, thanks to Kiwi-born guitarist Daniel “DaFreez” Johnson. The other two are brother and sister Cato and Joost van Sheik…Cato singing most of the lead vocals while playing bass and occasionally guitar, while Joost is the powerhouse drummer that keeps this very efficient music machine running smoothly.

Solomon Cole

First up is, from Waiheke Island, Solomon Cole, who is accompanied by two other musicians whose names escaped me. One sang bvs and played tambourine while the other added more percussion via a cajon.

Cole began the evening on a solemn note, pointing out that, although life on Waiheke “commands a good life” and is a wonderful place, it also has one of the highest suicide rates I New Zealand. And so he began his set with Little Mama, a tune dedicated to a recent Waiheke resident who succumbed to suicide.

Solomon Cole

It was just after 9pm and the crowd was forming so Solomon and his friends lifted the mood with an upbeat Get On, Get Up. For me, the highlight of the 40 minute set was the trio’s take on Robert Johnson’s Come On In My Kitchen with Son House’s Death Letter Blues coming in a close second.

The crowd began to get restless and talkative during quieter numbers like new song, Ain’t Got Time To Die…the title track to Cole’s upcoming album…but he won them back by the end.

My Baby

It was just a couple of days ago that I was in this same venue reviewing Canadian punk/ska band The Flatliners. That band managed to race through 18 songs in little over an hour. By comparison, My Baby stretched about a dozen or so jams into just under two hours.

Yes, they like to play…fortunately for all concerned; they’ve got the chops to back it up.

As I mentions, Joost is a powerhouse drummer…a “machine”, if you will, but there was nothing mechanical about his timekeeping. He was sensitive and expressive when the vibe called for it, otherwise he was the engine that drove this dancing machine. I loved his tribal tub-thumping during Good Gin Blues.

Meanwhile Daniel seems to be the master of anything with strings, especially if he has a slide on his finger. He also took the spotlight during Good Gin Blues with a killer slide solo mixing in some wah wah for measure. And new song, High Hopes was another slide guitar masterclass.

My Baby

The band has a new album due in May and a new song , Ain’t No Turnin’ Back was released on this day. We were treated to that a few other unreleased gems including the slyly titled Smiley Virus.

Singer/bassist Cato was in excellent voice as she front eth trio with grace, skill and beauty. Together, these three are the full package.

Really, this wasn’t a show built around song, but more about the beat…many of the tunes segued seamlessly into each other, giving those in the audience plenty of reasons to bust a move.

It was bluesy, soulful and psychedelic as only My Baby can be. And it’s always a pleasure to catch their live show…now just a couple of months till the new album.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Chris Zwaagdyk:

My Baby: