Some of the best music gets played in the smallest places.

        Wednesday night, one of those places was the homiest juke joint in Latonia, Lucille's. The tiny bar hosted two of the best acts to come out of the thriving Bay Area blues scene, Little Charlie & the Nightcats and Rusty Zinn.

        Guitarist Little Charlie Baty and his fine band are no strangers to Tristate audiences, but the addition of singer/guitarist Zinn made it an event. Putting them together in a club that fits little more than 100 people turned it into a once-in-a-lifetime event.

        The five musicians — Mr. Baty, Mr. Zinn, singer/harmonica player/master of ceremonies Rick Estrin, bassist Frankie Randall and drummer Joey Ventittelli — played in various combinations for two hours and 40 minutes (not counting an intermission in which Mr. Estrin hustled Nightcats merchandise).

        The result was like seeing four or five different bands. There was the swing/blues guitar trio, as Mr. Baty led his rhythms section through bebopping instrumental showpieces, tearing off diminished runs and flashy tremolo licks with equal skill.

        Joined by Mr. Estrin (whose horn-rimmed sunglasses and baggy suit gave him the ideal pimp/bluesman look) they became the jiving blues quartet of such Nightcats classics as “Eyes Like a Cat” and the crowd-pleasing shout-along, “Dump That Chump.”

        With Mr. Zinn added, the Nightcats' swinging “jump blues” style moved to the Mississippi Delta. The 30-year-old guitarist alternated downhome fingerpicking with a stabbing single-string attack that stood somewhere between the minimalism of B.B. King and Albert King's denser approach. His version of Arbee Stidham's “Meet Me Halfway” displayed the showmanship learned from Mr. Estrin, one of the blues' best front men.

        When Mr. Estrin left the stage, the two guitarists went head to head in a good-natured cutting contest. Their styles were complementary, Mr. Baty's jazzier, more note-filled playing contrasting with Mr. Zinn's more concise solos.

        And that's how it went, the music constantly changing textures and moods. The differences were emphasized by the instruments played, as Mr. Randall switched between upright bass and electric and Mr. Baty alternated between a big, golden hollow-body guitar and a solid-body Strat. Mr. Estrin also changed harmonica tones, getting a fat, distorted sound through his amp or going for a lighter, more countrified sound with his vocal microphone.

        Most blues acts couldn't keep an audience awake for almost three hours of music. But by the time the Nightcats closed with Mr. Estrin and Mr. Zinn doing their “Come Get These Blues Off of Me,” the crowd was still screaming for more.

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