Bettye Lavette @ The Bongo Club

After sixty years of life and forty-five years in the business, one thing that Bettye Lavette has not lost is her voice. She sings like her larynx has been kept in a rosewood cabinet, out of sunlight, gaining more and more resonance with each passing year. If only the same could be said for the arrangements of her songs. While the youthful Lavette struts and dances, her band plays a smooth and funky accompaniment that is well past its sell-by-date. Despite their individual virtuosity, the net effect is to turn old soul scorchers into cheesy roastings, and the grand dame's passion isn't always enough to save it. But the gig's finest moments are truly heartwrenching: Dolly Parton's Little Sparrow, fierce and forlorn; or Lavette cross-legged on the floor and singing John Prine's Souvenirs, wrenching memories from her chest under red and white lights. [Sean Michaels]