DOCTOR DOES A LINGERIE HOUSE CALL

“Ah’m gonna do somethin’ you kin talk about for the nex’ fo’-five years,” boasted Dr. Isaiah Ross, making his local debut before a full house Friday at the Lingerie. Live performances by original country blues artists being a rarity these days, the 60-year-old one-man band (harmonica-guitar-drums) was right. Highlights included a wild, swirling “Cat’s Squirrel” that proved that if you added 400,000 watts and several yards of crushed velvet to the good doctor’s original formula you’d wind up with Led Zeppelin and a frantic, frenetic “Chicago Breakdown” that sounded exactly like the rockin’ Doc’s 1954 Sun recording.

Not everything was this memorable. Ross lacks the melodies or personal vision to distinguish himself from the giants of this idiom, but the evening was brightened by strong opening acts: the first live show in 20 years by swamp pop star Cookie (of the Cupcakes and “Matilda” fame) and a guitar-drums country blues travelogue by Blasters Phil ‘n’ Bill.