Eddie and the Hot Rods – Prima Donna – The Re-Volts – Johnny Madcap and the Distractions – at The Knitting Factory – April 26, 2009

Do you love rock and roll? Do you love it like Joan Jett loves it? like Wendy O. loved it? If you do, then you were probably at Eddie and the Hotrods' return to the Knitting Factory this past Sunday. If you weren't you're about to feel bad. The show opened with Johnny Madcap and the Distractions, relative new-comers, and Los Angeles locals. Despite being a newer band, Johnny Madcap already has a decent following. They play a nice blend of power pop and garage rock. If a bit conventional, the songs themselves are catchy, and the band has good stage presence and are fun to watch. They do a handful of good covers, including a rousing version of the Vibrations' "Hang on Sloopy", so if you like to sing along, you won't be disappointed. They'll be on the road with this tour, but keep an eye out for them when they get back, these guys are reminiscent of the Briefs at times, and I definitely look forward to catching them again.

Next up were the Re-Volts down from San Francisco. The Re-Volts have great musical ability, but their frontman is perhaps a better guitarist than singer. Their songs have an excellent sense of urgency, driven by hard guitar riffs, and a hard-hitting drummer, but the vocal stylings leave something to be desired. Maybe thisis due to self-consciousness though, for when the band hit their Gary Glitter cover, the meekness dropped away from their singer, and they brought down the house. I would like to see this band again, as I'm betting with time they'll become more comfortable onstage, and be able to build on their obvious talent.

The final support act was Prima Donna. I'll go ahead and be diplomatic here and just say that this band left me cold. They did seem to have a couple dedicated fans in the crowd though.

At long last it was time for Eddie and the Hot Rods. I've been told time and again by tired "middle managers" who insist they used to be rockers that you slow down with age. You couldn't prove it by Eddie and the Hot Rods. With a career spanning over 30 years, they've lot none of their electric energy and charisma. The set was fast-paced and had a good mix of older and (relatively) newer songs, including "Quit This Town", "Why Should I Care", and "Teenage Depression". The crowd was super excited, singing along to the better known songs, and dancing for the entire set which lasted well over an hour. The band closed with the seminal anthem "Do Anything You Wanna Do" originally joined on stage by Angel City Outcasts' Alex Brugge, and almost immediately joined by anyone from the crowd who could make their way up on stage.

Not allowed to rest, the crowd called the band back for an encore. They returned to do their cover of "Born to be Wild" before inviting everyone to the Beauty Bar for the after party and retiring for the night. Most memorable moment? When singer Barrie Masters turned to bassist Dipster, and said "I fucking love this." So do we sir, so do we.


-Jo Problems-

 
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