I had never been to a show at the First Unitarian Church in Philly until Saturday night.  It’s a strange venue, down in the cellar of a house of worship, and specializes in punk and indie shows.  Hmmm.  My First UC virginity ended when King Tuff rolled into town. 

Let’s talk about the venue for a minute.  I’m not sure I like it too much – the sound is harsh and it’s a difficult place to mix – vocals were difficult all night.  Sightlines, however, are good, and it’s small, so no one is going to be very far from the stage.  Lighting is terrible.  There are no stage lights per se, only overhead cans that glare down on the bands.  KT bitched about it, and rightfully so.

Here’s an interesting fact:  The First UC is a BYO.  And people take full advantage, strutting in with a lot of beer.  That leads to a lot of people who are more inebriated than the typical club crowd.  Lucky for all of us that it was Saturday night and people were in a festive mood, but that many drunks in a basement with punk playing would probably be tricky sometimes.  One bad thing:  basically no security at all.  Seriously, after Bataclan and Pulse, don’t we need to address the security situation at live music venues once and for all, particularly where people are bringing in tons of their own beer?

The crowd itself was a very eclectic mix:  dirty long-hairs, bearded millenials (I’m kind of tired of the look, dudes, and some of you with the scraggly crap look like the Bearded Lady, hahaha), gays and lesbians, lots of tattoos, and some of the youngest people I’ve seen at a rock show in a while.  The youngsters were looking at me thinking “what the heck is grandpa doing here,” and I was thinking “I hope you brought along some extra diapers.”  (Notice I didn’t say Depends – not yet).  Whatever, it was a pretty interesting group of people – clearly not your typical club crowd even for punk shows.

Before King Tuff took the stage, there was one opening band worth mentioning:  Cut Worms.  They are an alt-county foursome who include prominent keyboards.  Some of their songs were pure country – they played Hank Williams Lost Highway for instance - while others had a Dr. John New Orleans gumbo feel to them.  The crowd liked them and so did I.  In fact, I liked them enough to take a few pictures, and here they be:

King Tuff was up next.  KT is basically Kyle Thomas, a former member of Ty Segall’s backup band, The Muggers.  Coming out of the rock ‘n roll hotspot of Vermont, KT is basic college rock:  garage, some pyschedelia, power pop, etc., and it’s damn groovy.  It hits the “good stuff” mark on the BRP measuring stick.  King Tuff was touring to support his new album The Other, and his bio is kind of sad.  Kyle created a party-monster persona, but doesn’t drink or do drugs, and was on the road non-stop.  It almost killed his rock spirit.  He took a couple of years off, figured out what he wanted to do next, and dug deep to make The Other.  I can tell you that the people present at the First UC were exuberant and glad that he didn’t hang up the cleats and go into retirement, BRP among them.

That bio isn’t to say that Kyle has lost his spark:  check out the stage get-up of the King himself.  That hat was encrusted with appliques, rhinestones, and sparkly do-dads of all sorts.  The suit was clearly not Italian or silk, but it was a funky blue-green color, and one that I should wear to work.  And the shoes were rock ‘n roll finery with an intricate design and pointy toes.  You go, baby!

Let me say this:  KT is the first band I have seen in a while with a majority of women playing the instruments.  Unfortunately, I can’t find out who is in the band – nothing on the official KT site, Facebook or the font of all knowledge, Wikipedia.  But the woman playing lead can really play.  All those riffs you hear on their albums?  She was playing them live.  And the bassist was fine, too, and pretty big into hitting rocker poses on stage.  Cooooool.

I was smart enough to remember the GoPro this time and caught two songs.  For the first one, I was right up in front of the stage, but the sound was so god-awful and loud that I had to move back.  I’m a big proponent of, and user of, earplugs, but even with plugs, I couldn’t handle it.  I can’t remember ever moving back from a coveted spot right up front, but I did it on Saturday night.  That resulted in the second song, Bad Thing, being recorded from 10 or 15 rows back, but that vantage point also caught the only moshing of the night.  I think the resulting video is bonkers.

The band played a ton of their great songs, but the show was maybe one hour and fifteen minutes.  And they didn’t play Anthem, which is just a badass song.  BOO!  They did put on a good show in all its low-budget glory.  For instance, they had a couple of strings of LED Christmas lights randomly strung across the amps and drums, and they didn’t even both to duct tape the many power cords that were running all across the stage.  Still, passion is something that not even the best light shows can provide, and KT brought plenty of that essential with them.

It was a fun and good night of rock.  I’m glad to have turned the corner from the electric troubadour thing, and am looking forward to much, much more this summer.  Are you with me?  Great, be sure to close the back door to this bus as it is getting to ROLL and we’re safety first here at BRP.  I’m still working on a couple of other great posts, so check back often.  See you all soon – love you all, even those not wearing deodorant!  ZOOOOM!!!

I’m driving to Union Transfer on Thursday night with a car full of people.  We’re all going to see Low Cut Connie.  I’m beyond wondering if everyone is going to have fun – that’s guaranteed – but I am beginning to question my own behavior.  This is the fifth time I’ve seen LCC in about 18 months, and I’m thinking, what am I doing?  Have I lost my own mind and become too much of a fanboy? 

Hours later, I emerge from UT.  Of course everyone thought LCC was great because they are.  More importantly, I was no longer questioning myself.  This band is just tremendous barroom fun.  They are entertainment par excellence.  And there is no guilt in continuing to ride on the LCC bus to rock ‘n roll Valhalla. 

I’m not the only one who has hitched a ride.  The place was packed, hot and sweaty.  And more importantly, the fans knew what they were in for.  It was a raucous crowd, the best yet for any of the LCC shows that I’ve seen.  They knew the songs, they knew the words, and they were all there, like me, ready to party and have a great time.  Is LCC the best bar band out there right now?  Certainly, without doubt.  But do they have mega-stardom in their future?  Who knows and who cares? 

All I know is that this band knows how to put on a show.  They are super tight.  The show still has some looseness to it, but is also much more choreographed (if that’s the right word for it) than it was all those months ago.  What are you in for?  Adam Weiner is going to strut and preen about the stage, play Shondra on his knees or standing on the piano bench with a leg sticking out, stand on top of Shondra and sing, and go out into the crowd and hug (slime?) people (As Weiner said, it’s a great LCC show where it is a little stinky, and this boy can SWEAT – he got Diana TWICE, hahaha).  Will Donnelly is going to climb on top of Shondra and jump off while playing his guitar, a leap that is youthful in its exuberance and rock ‘n roll energy/showmanship, but one that also isn’t going to last forever as it’s too fraught with physical peril.  In fact, at this show, he broke his guitar trying to stick the landing, and then wickedly turned and smashed the guitar on the stage.  Lucas Rinz is going to jam the bass while smiling the entire show, Larry Scotten will pound the drums and drive the songs forward (he’s a great drummer and everyone knows that you measure a band by the quality of its drummer), and James Everhart will play some great guitar leads and sing his one song.

The show rolls from one tune to the next with stagecraft.  Many hours of rehearsals are clearly apparent.  In some ways, this is great, but in others, the shows aren’t quite as “anything goes” as they were a few years back.  Nonetheless, this band is just marvelously fun and should not be missed.  I've turned on at least a dozen people and not one has come away with anything but "that was great!"

LCC is from Philly, and playing before the home crowd is always a good thing.  Both the band and the fans were jacking each other up, pushing the show to higher levels.  It didn’t hurt that the band had released its latest album, Dirty Pictures (Part II), the day before and was therefore motivated to bring it even more during its live act.  And it also didn’t hurt that Adam is becoming a more confident and capable songwriter, thus expanding their repertoire with good new songs.  The band always plays covers, but the best tunes of the night are their originals:  Boozophilia, Revolution Rock ‘n Roll, Beverly, Shit Shower & A Shave, Shake It Little Tina, Dirty Water, Rio, Angela, Back In School and other rave-ups that are good on vinyl but great when performed live.  They did covers of songs by Alex Chilton, Charles Bradley, Harry Nillson and Prince.  Wow.

Thursday’s show also featured Saundra Williams, a newer member of the band who has a powerful voice and provides an element to the group that wasn’t there before.  She takes some of the pressure off of Adam to deliver vocals throughout the night, and also has a playful manner that she reserves until she is in the spotlight.  After all, there is no questioning the star of this show:  Adam Weiner is a showman through and through and this is his band and his show.  The other guys are great, and they all contribute to the net effect, but Adam is magnetic.  It’s hard to take your eyes off of him, but you should because you are missing a lot of other stuff if you only watch Adam.

Here’s another cool thing:  I always respect a band that is confident enough to bring along strong opening acts, and LCC continues to do that.  The first time I saw them they were playing with Marah, a great live act that is intimidating if you lack the chops to hang with them.  Last time it was National Reserve, and on Thursday, there were two strong local openers:  TJ Kong and the Atomic Bomb and Ceramic Animal. 

TJ played their own material, but also tore up Springsteen’s Because The Night.  Most of their set was rootsy-blues based music that was appreciated by the crowd.  They are a Philly band, too.  I love American roots music, and I love the fact these guys are from Philly.  They are on the “keep your eye on them” list here at BRP.

And Ceramic Animal brought along a leisure-suit wardrobe look and some very nice original songs.  Their music is straight up rock, but not super power-popped.  It’s good and tuneful, and they played a nice set.  I assume that they are from the Philly area given that their kick drum was sporting a Bucks County Drum logo, but there is little info about them on the web, so I could be wrong.

I know that many people like to skip the openers, and given how many poor acts there are out there, I understand.  But once you realize that certain bands bring along a lot of great talent, you show up for everything.  That’s LCC – come early, stay until the end, have a wonderful time and get your faith in rock ‘n roll fully restored.

I promised myself to limit the photos for this show, but then went and took a bunch anyway.  I can’t help it:  I just stand there with my phone’s camera turned on, and blast away when I feel like it.  These guys are highly visual and photogenic, so it’s a paradise of posing and fantastic photo ops.  Unfortunately, I completely forgot the GoPro, so I have no new videos (go ahead, give me the boo of the week, I deserve it).  Here’s a little tidbit from YouTube in its place:

What’s next?  Funny you should ask as I had another show in the queue on Saturday night.  Whoo boy, does the kid know how to live or what?  I’ll write that one up soon.  And I have two more things I’m working on.  The first is the promised post on the songs that you shouldn’t play at a party, but that get played all the time anyway.  That will be a barn burner with some necessary ass-ripping.  And the second is a lament on the decline of album cover art and how one regular BRP reader is fighting back.  I might even have a Memorial Day post if I can find the time. 

I hope you are doing well and that we all finally see some sun – I don’t want to change this blog to BillyRocksSeattle, but man, has this week been the pits or what?   I’m ready to start wearing shorts to shows, but the weather just hasn’t been there yet.  C’mon, bring on the heat!  For you rockers who are with me, give me an AMEN and I’ll see you next time. 

​Yo, what are the best party tunes out there?  Who the heck knows?  I have tried to craft the perfect party mix many times, and I think I succeeded only once.  That was for a special 40th birthday party where I made four of the BEST party CDs ever, and the party was amazing.  Maybe I'll share that track list with you someday.

​But that party was many moons ago, and sometimes the songs don't hold up, or you want something new to play.  I'm going to lay down a couple of rules for party tunes, but of course, you can ignore them at will.  That would be stupid, however, and as BRP attracts only the smartest and best-looking people out there, I know you will heed what I say.  So here are the rules:

​1.  Play something that everyone knows.  If you come to my house for a party, you are expected to dance.  And it's always best to dance to something you know so that you can time your moves perfectly to the beat, and show off that shit that you've been practicing when no one is around.  We had a friend who used to jump off a chair during a Michael Jackson song that was played over and over in college, ​Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, and it became his signature move.  I love how that track starts with that bass beat and then let's you go big right off the bat.  And the song has easy lyrics for you to lip sync as you do the splits and spins on the floor.  We have good friends that always substitute lyrics in this song that are nasty and funny and have become a staple for us, too.  Hey, imitation is flattery, and if you can imitate the best dance moves that MJ does in this song, you are one cool cat.  And if you need another MJ song that is a bit slower and not as long (i.e., you're getting old), try ​Rock With You.  ​Yummy.
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​2.  Play something with an edge.  Yeah, there are songs that just have a gritty lead riff lick that gets every testosterone filled carbon-based life form playing that air guitar.  But don't pick some boring tune - go with one of the best rock 'n roll tracks EVER.  Yes, I'm talking about David Bowie's ​Rebel Rebel.  ​This song has it all:  unbelievable guitar, great driving beat, fantastic rock lyrics, and a danceability not always captured with rock songs.  Hot tramp, how could they know?  

​3.  Honor a fallen hero.  Yes, this is the Rick James/Prince rule.  I LOVE Rick James.  And Prince?  Holy crap, you can't go wrong with either one of these guys.  I'm going to pick Mr. James's ​Give It To Me.  How great is the video?  Hahaha, one of the Classics.  But the song itself has great horns, a danceable groove that has a couple of crescendo parts for your signature moves, lyrics that resonate with the males in the audience, and sing-along parts that are memorable:  give me that stuff, that funk, that sweet, that funky stuff.  Yeah, right now!  The only downside with this particular track, and I'm stretching, is that it is lengthy.  That means you'll have to do that suburban shuffle more times than you might like, but it also means that you get the chance to experiment with some new moves.  C'mon, blow my mind!
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​4.  Don't forget the classics.  Hey, we're living in the 21st Century and we think that everything essential happened in the time of the iPhone.  But it just ain't true!  In fact, we used to actually converse with real live people and have fun with them.  The music back then was bad ass, too, and laid the groundwork for everything that came after it.  So remember the classics.  Like The Beatles ​Twist and Shout ​which has everything you want in a rock song:  poppy beat, catchy guitar, easy but fun lyrics, and good times galore.  It even gives you the chance to shake your head and scream right along with the boys in the band.  Plus, for you oldsters or those with bad joints, it's short.  What's not to like?
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​5.  Play the obligatory new song that everyone likes.  A song like Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson's ​Uptown Funk.  ​Horns.  Danceability.  Known by billions of people.  Even the hipsters in their little hats, high-water pants, and bushy beards will be out on the dance floor for this one.  Don't believe me, just watch!  And Bruno is a traditionalist in many ways, paying homage to guys like James Brown.  This song will funk you up.
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6.  Play a song just for girls (and their moms).  Oh baby, it's a lot more fun to watch the women dance than the men.  Men are too freaking serious, or, worse, are big babies and don't want to take a risk and put themselves out there.  But women just go out and have fun.  I'm going to put two "get out the girls" songs in this category:  Van Morrison's venerable ​Wild Night, ​what with all the girls walking by dressed up for each other and its title promising a big night on the town; and the Spice Girls ​Spice Up Your Life, ​a song so irresistible that no woman stays off the dance floor when it blasts out of the speakers.  And that's what you want:  women shimmying, moving, bumping and grinding.  Grrrrrrlllll  Power!

​7.  Play a Madonna track.  Hey, she was iconic for a reason.  Her whole raison d'etre was to get people dancing, and she succeeded many times over.  I'm pretty big on the material girl, but I'm partial to ​Get Into The Groove.  ​Tonight, I want to dance with someone else!  

​8.  Play some classic rock.  It's classic for a reason.  Maybe they should call the best of the best Epic Rock.  But some of the top party tracks are not what is played regularly on MMR.  I'm going to throw a couple out here because I couldn't pick just one.  First, AC/DC's ​You Shook Me All Night Long.  ​​Fantastic heavy guitar, smutty lyrics, and known throughout the civilized world, it's a can't miss.  Give me those schoolboy shorts, g'damn ya!  Next, the Romantics ​What I Like About You, ​just because it's got a great new wave sound and danceability that is out of this world. I also know when to do the hand claps. I saw these guys at the Disco Depot in Radford, Virginia and they wore red leather suits, and that simple fact gives me something to discuss at my parties.  Finally, Billy Idol's ​Dancing With Myself, ​which is one of my all-time favorite songs and always gets me grooving in a vulgar and nasty fashion.  
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​9.  Motown.  Or a Motown remake.  I love Motown tracks, and I'm going to go with two of them here.  First, the Jackson Five's ​I Want You Back.  ​How good is this song?  As soon as that piano starts up, everyone in the joint is singing and moving their arthritic hips in time to the beat.  It's an all-time great one, and guaranteed to make you loved by everyone at your party.  Well, that and the free drinks, but you take what you can and assume the best.  And this video is just so timeless in its sixties funk.  If you dress like Jermaine at your next party, I guarantee that everyone will remember you.  The second track is ​Build Me Up Buttercup​, but I'm going with the David Johansen version, which is just enough off-kilter to give it a new kick, yet it's the same tune and lyrics that the Foundations made so famous.  New York Dolls version, ahoy!
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​10.  A big finish.  If you've done it right and followed my rules, you are a hero and people are hot, sweaty and wanting more.  But you have to get those free-loaders out of your house before they find out where you keep the good hootch, so you regrettably have to end the night.  Some like to end with a slow drag.  Some people are also dumber than dirt.  You end big, with a great fast song that has people begging for one ... more ... song.  So I'll give you two tracks to shut the mother down.  First up, the Rascals great song ​Good Lovin'.  ​Don't be tempted to go with the Grateful Dead version.  It is ok, but falls far short of what the Rascals put down on vinyl.  And who the hell wants to play the GD at their party anyway?  You showered and wear deodorant, after all, and aren't some damn dirty hippie.  Just don't be tempted to dress like the Rascals in this video - are those the dumbest looking Peter Pan collars or what?  Anyway, once that song is done, people will be pleading for another track, and you tell them that if they put a twenty in the tip bucket, you can accommodate them.  And then blow their minds with the Talking Heads ​Burning Down The House.  ​Again, you have to choose the correct version, and you, being the smart BRP reader, grab the live version as your closer.  Don't believe me?  Give a listen and then tell me I'm wrong.  I double dog dare you.
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​How'd you like them apples?  Pretty freakin' good, huh?  And next up are the tunes that you DO NOT play at your parties.  EVER.  Now, I'm not going to dip deep into the bottomless pit of crap rock songs and say never play these because they are too obvious.  Nope, I'm going to insult those idiots who actually play certain songs that torture us at weddings, mitzvahs, birthday parties, and the like.  Yep, I'm going to skewer the truly bad tracks that are always played and that always lead to many people instantly having to take a piss at the same time.  You be sure to check back and see if you think I'm wrong (I'm not, btw).

​I'm not sure I'll get to that before I put up a couple more reviews.  I'm checking out two shows this week, and will dutifully review and write them up for you.  And  hopefully I'll be uploading some great videos from those shows, too.  Oh, and I have some other things to write up to prove that BRP isn't just about rock 'n roll 24-7-365.  

​One last brain fart and then I'm out of here.  I lived in Miami during the summer of 1984 (yup, during the great cocaine cowboys era, a very interesting time to hang out in SoFla) and there was a rock station in the city with the call letters WSHE.  They used to give out window stickers for the car that simply said "She's Only Rock 'n Roll."  No other hook for the radio station at all.  They were popular as hell, and everyone knew the double entendre intended by the clever dude who came up with it.  There are so many ways to be cool in this world, but having a big late 70s muscle car with "She's Only Rock 'n Roll" on the back window got you a free pass to any party in town.  If I could only find one of those stickers now....  Rock on!
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I was home alone one weekend recently, and decided I needed to get out of the house and away from work, taxes, and the like.  I checked the local concert listings and saw that They Might Be Giants were in town at the TLA.  Voila!  Off I went to check out TMBG.

It was an interesting night.  I hadn’t been to the TLA for a weekend show in quite a while, and Saturday was quite nice on the weather front, so people were out and about.  As the TLA is on South Street, you have to jockey through a fair amount of the city to get to the venue.  South Street remains a mixture of cool and scuzzy, with scuzzy seeming to predominate more these days, but I really like the TLA as a venue.  Anyway, I left my house with seeming time to spare, only to get caught up in the most god-awful traffic in Center City.  The Schuylkill expressway was a breeze, but trying to get through town and find a parking space was terrible.  I finally snagged a spot, but missed the first song of the set, a huge no-no in the world of BRP.

The show was sold out, and given that I hadn’t arrived a bit before the band came on stage, I was stuck in the back.  My pictures of the show basically blow as a result, but the unusual vantage point gave me the opportunity to check out the crowd.  Hello!  Who are these people?

Let me come back to that after I explain TMBG.  The band is basically two guys, John Flansburgh and John Linnell.  They’ve been playing together for many years, have 20 albums out, and play what could be called alternative rock.  Or maybe nerd rock?  I’ll come back to that, too.  The Johns also put out children’s records, and have had amazing success with that genre, scoring three gold records in that space. 

I was mildly into the band when they first came out, and own some of their earlier discs.  The songs are intelligent, quirky, and sometimes even sophisticated, but the music is generally poppy and accessible.  Most people give a listen and like them.  One song I particularly like, Minimum Wage, features a bull whip and the only lyrics are the words “minimum wage.”  Hahaha, that’s pretty funny!  Check it out below.  Both Johns sing, but Linnell is the primary vocalist.  He has a pleasant enough voice if you favor flat nasal vocals.  He also plays varied instruments, including a BRP favorite, the accordion. 

The band used to perform as a duo with a drum machine, but they got over that a long time ago, and they have a pretty darn good band that accompanies them.  There is a good rapport among the musicians, they are all talented and rehearsed, and the songs come out professional and well-played.

There is a bit of vaudeville to the show as there are cued up “phone conversations” and comedic interludes that were a hit with the crowd.  I didn’t find it as cool as some, but it was quirky.  I prefer bands that do a little banter to acknowledge that, yes, they are playing to a live audience, but too much of a good thing is, well, too much. 

One cool thing these guys did in their career was come up with dial-a-song.  On their first CD, there is a phone number that you can call, and the boys would have a song on the answering machine.  They changed them out frequently, allowing continued calls to hear their new music.  If you called from work, it gave the appearance of being on an important call, but accomplished the task of sticking it to The Man.  They did this for years and years, ultimately moving to podcasts and other internet-based mediums.  Now, it’s an app.  Creative?  You bet.  Here’s a link to their website where you can check it all out:

www.theymightbegiants.com/

And here's the Youtube video of one of their best songs, Don't Let's Start:

 
What about the show itself?  Kudos that there was no opening act.  The band came out and played two sets, and brought along an amazing trumpet / trombone player (one time switching back and forth to play both instruments in the same song) named Curt Ramm.  They have 33 songs listed on the setlist (but some were those comedy stints) in two sets and two encores, and the audience loved it.  Moreover, the songs spanned their career, which was nice for someone like me who is pretty knowledgeable of the early part, but less so of the more recent vintage.  There was something for everyone.  The folks at setlist.fm put the entire thing together, and here’s the link:

www.setlist.fm/setlist/they-might-be-giants/2018/the-theatre-of-living-arts-philadelphia-pa-43ec0b3b.html

Apparently, the show was live-streamed, too.  I didn’t hunt that down, but if you’re interested, I’m sure it exists somewhere in the cloud.

And if you do hunt it down, you must be part of the mix of people that are really interested in TMBG.  I am often at punk and straight up rock shows, and while I like TMBG, I’m not a mega-fan.  Those that are would be affectionately called nerds.  Nothing against them at all, but who else would wear Star Wars and Scooby-Doo t-shirts to a show?  Like I said, it was an interesting mix, and TMBG’s music seems to attract, like Vampire Weekend, a nerdy contingent of people.  You decide whether I was in my element or out of place.  One thing was for sure:  no worries about being inadvertently in the mosh pit.  Still, nerds or not, this next track is just a great song with a great lyric, and is every bit as apropos today as when it was released some 20+ years ago:

What’s next?  I think it’s King Tuff at the First Unitarian Church in Philly. No wait, that’s not right.  It’s Low Cut Connie, my Philly jag, at Union Transfer next week.  Oh man, if you get the chance, go see these guys as they are just great live performers.  I’m itching to get a great show in as I’ve been stuck in a rut, much like the Philly weather until a week or so ago.  But now that the weather has fully shifted and it’s gorgeous outside, the music seems to have hit a better stride, too.  Onward and upward!  Enjoy the hell out of May, and let’s go have some FUN!  See you soon.

Whoa, sorry about that.  I got consumed with something called my life, and wasn't able to post for a bit.  I have another show to write up (I'll get to that shortly), and more on the way.  In the meantime, check out these great shots of the Hudson River valley in New York.  The first is from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and the second is on the other side of the river at Kykuit, the former Rockefeller estate.  Beautiful country, right?

How about some music?  I thought you would never ask.  I have some great songs that have been on my mind lately.  They aren't necessarily related in any way.  I've just been listening to them, and figured I would share them. 

Up first is J.J. Jackson with his great tune, "But It's Alright."  I love the guitar introduction, the lyrics about unrequited love, and the grooving beat.  Oh, and did I mention great horns, too?  I never thought I would dig a song that features a xylophone solo, but hey, you go where the music takes you.  Anyway, it's one of my all-time favorites.  Here you go:

For some reason, whenever I hear that song, I think of another great 60s track.  This one is Archie Bell and the Drells "Tighten Up."  This is one of the songs that gives you biographical information about the band before kicking in to rock you out.  Houston, Texas, a place that I visit with some frequency.  I love the lead guitar riff.  And I can walk as good as I dance, haha.  Now, make it mellow!

Do you want something from this decade?  OK, I understand.  Here's a fantastic garage band that I've been tracking a lot lately, the Reigning Sounds.  This song, "Stormy Weather," cranks along with a retro feel - doesn't it sound like it could have been in the Animal House soundtrack?  Again, great rock 'n roll lyrics and spirit.  We'll need to hear more from these guys.  And how fun is this video?  Rebel Ray outdid himself with this one.

There is a great all-female trio out of DC called Ex Hex.  I saw them a bit ago, and just scored tickets to see them again at Boot and Saddle.  They play straight up rock 'n roll, and while it's not fair to compare them to the Runaways, Go Go's or Bangles, they are right there with them.  Given the commercial success of those others, it's pretty good company.  And with that, let's give a look and listen.  I picked "Don't Wanna Lose" as the track of choice, and it's great:

Alright, I hope that keeps you satisfied for a bit.  Check back soon for my latest concert review.  And if you're in the Philly area, how about this weather?  I'm in the greatest of moods right now.  It's just fun to drive around in the concert car with the top down, the sun shining, the warm sun beating down, and the flowers and leaves busting out all over the place.  Enjoy!