A bourbon, a princess, a beer

Lancaster, Pa. native Monique Oritz and her accomplices will bring the sultry and grimy… Lancaster, Pa. native Monique Oritz and her accomplices will bring the sultry and grimy sounds of Bourbon Princess to Busker?s Friday night.

Sometimes, a performer?s moniker can be entirely indicative of his or her style, and such is the case with Bourbon Princess. Fronted by the seductive Oritz on vocals and bass, and featuring the ambient tones of former Morphine members Dana Colley on sax and Jerome Deupree on drums, Bourbon Princess comes off like the sonic equivalent of a good bourbon ? simultaneously harsh and soothing, with a lush and heady flavor.

Having moved from Pennsylvania to Cambridge, Mass. a few years prior, Oritz released the first Bourbon Princess album, Stopline, in 2000 as a largely solo effort ? both financially and artistically. Since then, Deupree has become a permanent fixture of Bourbon Princess and the band has garnered a record deal with Massachusetts indie label Accurate Records.

The band?s latest release, Black Feather Wings, sounds like pure noir for the ears. The bassy, dark rhythms of the album evoke images of smoky rooms and shadowy figures. Lyrically, themes run the gamut from sex and drugs to hypocrisy, and all of the other moody fodder provided by the underbelly of the human condition. A sort of new-age jazz pervades the album, the kind of sound that must be heard live to be truly appreciated.

Bourbon Princess, possessed of a very unique sound perfect for the small club atmosphere, is more than energetic enough to entertain and should provide the perfect sounds to chill to for the evening. Catch the performance, have a stiff drink and brood away with the best of them.

Bourbon Princess plays Busker?s in the Strip District Friday night at 9 p.m. Tickets are $5. For more information, call (412) 355-0911.