The Geomatic Attic has had a nice string of sold out and close to sold out shows, so it was no surprise close to 100 people packed the place on Sunday, March 4 for the long awaited  return of Tri-Continental aka Madagascar Slim, Bill Bourne and Lester Quitzau plus drummer Michael Treadway.

 I arrived at then end of the first set but was glad I stuck around for the second.

 It was like being at a folk festival in the dead of winter as the three took turns playing their songs and singing while adding what they needed to the others. Treadway grinned as he added drums and an assortment of percussion  to everything.

 Each of the three captivated the audience with their presence, especially Bourne, whose voice was hypnotic.

Lester Quitzau opened the second set with a delay soaked instrumental piece full of  enrapturing slide guitar reminiscent of Sonny Landreth and a brace of chiming harmonics, to which he later added the poems of Buddhist poet Cold Mountain for lyrics. His slide added an extra level to everyone else’s songs.

Madagascar Slim laid down a solid groove and played exotic Madagascar style blues and jazz music for a highlight called “Boh,” which was a tragic love song.
 He switched to bass to help out Bill Bourne, whose spooky, teeth clenched voice was just plain hypnotic over some beautiful acoustic guitar picking.