Last night turned into a bit of a Rock’n Roll Time Travel Tour in the best possible way. There already was a good sized crowd in place at the Varsity when the first band took the stage at 7 PM.
Classless Act from LA will release their debut album “Welcome To The Show” in June. They took the stage with the swagger of Industry Veterans reminiscent of the days of glam rock. They have an old school vibe with modern riffs. If I had to describe them in one sentence: “If you like 80s rock but are not ready yet to give up and listen to KQRS yet”. Found out reading about them after the show that Justin Hawkins of The Darkness is contributing to their album.
Also hailing from Cali Joyous Wolf took us back a decade. The foursome had made a name for themselves opening for Slash, Buckcherry, and Deep Purple. During the Covid Shutdown Singer Nick Reese worked with a vocal coach. Combine that with Reese’s stage presence and you got a winning formula. That band has rock stars written all over them. At one point Reese took a leap from the Varsity’s low stage, clearing the pit and the barricade to land in the crowd, an impressive athletic feat.
After a guitar driving intro Dorothy Martin took to the stage and punched us in the face with “Down To The Bottom”. Being in the pit I usually get my first impression of an artist from 2-3 feet away at full volume. It’s usually quite intense, and it certainly was in Dorothy’s case. Her new record “Gifts From the Holy Ghost” is a guitar driven return to what she calls her DNA. Listening to her powerful voice that has a raw quality to it, one does get reminded that the roots of Rock’n Roll are in Blues. Intense, driving Blues in Dorothy’s case. Mind you the other members of the band are no slouches – at one point the fans placed on stage had everyone’s hair blowing to the music. Getting 3 great and different bands all centered on Rock makes for a pretty damn good Monday night.
Set List: Down To The Bottom / Gun In My Hand / Ain’t Our Time To Die / Wctm / Sweet Dreams / Rest In Peace / Beautiful Life / Medicine Man / Raise Hell / Flawless / Freedom
My gateway drug into New Wave was an Austrian band none of our readers will ever have heard about: Chuzpe. Somehow their cover of “Love will tear us apart” made it in the Austrian Charts […]
It’s no shock that I am a nostalgia seeker. It’s not that I enjoy living in the past but there is no denying that I find a complete sense of comfort in the music from […]
November 9th, U.K metalcore heavyweights Architects released their new album Holy Hell on Epitaph Records. This is Architects first full-length album without founding member and lead guitarist Tom Searle. In his absence, the band manages […]
