We headed to the show early with the intentions of hanging out in the loft till the show started but since I forgot the keys we decided to go on in the Variety Playhouse to grab a good seat and drink beer. We were treated to a black and white movie theater on the walls of the theater. Four screens plastered the walls on both sides with old B-Movies with a great soundtrack of garage band gems played in the background.
A band that won a contest to open the show began shortly that was ok but for us just that….ok.
Next up were The Charms that quickly gained our attention with their hard hooks and energetic lead singer, Ellie Vee. The band looked and played tough. I would like seeing this band play live anytime. The band was tight as hell and Ellie has a voice that is both sweet and in your face with tons of soul that flows naturally. The guitar player, Joe Wizda is like some freaky virtuoso type that will both amaze and astound you with his playing.
Next up came the Chesterfield Kings….WOW is the best description of this show by a band that has been around since 79′. Pure Rock and Roll swagger at it’s very best. The lead singer moved all over not only the stage but took off into the audience not just once like some singers do now but roamed all over the place including the seats halfway back into the venue. He stood on the seats, threw newspapers that got in his way, tumbled, tripped and drug his CORDED mic all over the place. At one point when we was ‘walking’ from one side of the audience to the other even the roadie needed a hand with that long mic cord and the audience stepped up and helped to surf the cord over their heads to the other side…once it reached its destination it quickly had to be moved back up on stage where Greg Prevost, the lead singer began an on stage love/lust session with his mic stand. I got some great photos of Greg all over the place here.
Next up were the Supersuckers. If you like the Supersuckers I would say they put on a good show. While not my personal favorites the highlight of the show was when Eddie Spahgetti made “bass guitar stars” out of the entire band and even let the members from the other bands on the bill in on the action. Funny stuff that ended with a killer version of “Frankenstein”. The Supersuckers website has a cool blog style page that Eddie writes on about the tour.
When the New York Dolls hit the stage all eyes were glued. The band ripped into a couple of classics then launched into some new numbers. They sounded great, looked great and really seemed to be having fun. Of course Sylvain Sylvain garnered much attention being the local guy (lives in Decatur). Great show, great sound. Long live the New York Dolls.
