I was walking along the Danforth with my girl by my side when I could hear a sound coming from down the street. It wasn’t the Linsmore Tavern, so where was this sound coming from? Well as I walked closer there were two buskers in front of The Only Café singing songs from a very different era.
I saw picnic tables line up along the sidewalk and decided to stop and have a listen for a few moments. Those few moments turned into over an hour and 1 plate of nachos later. I witnessed a pair of very charming musicians called Po’ Boy Jeffreys and Calamity Jane.
It was just the two of them with a banjo and a guitar singing songs from the 1920’s. It is what I would call the depression blues. It had some southern country, a bit of blues and sort of old theatre music to it. The young lady had a voice that seemed to fit this music perfectly, and our male counterpart had a gruff and dirge sound. It was similar to say, Tom Waits, but without all the alcohol. What made the evening even more fun was they strapped a horn around their mouth and a kazoo sound filled the air with delight. They even had a couple dancing on the sidewalk. Talk about dancing in the streets.
By the next set, Calamity Jane grabbed a washtub bass and you were transported back to the heyday of that music. Then some lady who had no money for laundry was walking around with her old washboard and joined right in. How did we just jump into a time machine and go back 100 years. I don’t know, but the time just slipped away.
After a good spell of listening to their sound, we got up paid them for a great evening of old music and grabbed a business card. I hear they are ready to be hired for special occasions. So, if you ever need to time travel, make sure you look up the name…Po’ Boy Jeffreys and Calamity Jane. Have music will Travel!
Here are a few images of Po’ Boy Jefferies and Calamity Jane:
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