The Vipers played Darwin’s Saturday night and delivered a soulful, satisfying show.

“You like it old-school?” lead singer and harmonica genius Ira Malkin asked the audience. “That’s good because so do we!”

There’s a lot of varieties if “old-school” and this one involved lots of T-Bone Walker, Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson and other tunes that let Malkin wail on harmonica and deliver equally strong vocals. Mark D’Alessio provided brilliant guitar solos and Chris Poma on drums and Theron Peterson on bass kept the rhythm going just as it ought to,

This is an awesome band. They look and sound and act just the way you imagine they would, as a blues band with a name like The Vipers. Malkin makes a great frontman, confident and smooth but not too smooth if you know what I mean. +During the break, he wandered through the room, speaking to people. That is always a nice touch.

We had a lovely surprise when my sister-in-law Yuki and her husband Russ joined us before the music started. They enjoyed themselves and I was so glad they were able to see such a great act for their first time at Darwin’s!

If you missed them this time, do not miss them when the opportunity rolls around again. The Vipers are the real deal and, just like T-Bone Walker and their other heroes, they know how to deliver entertainment!