For Melanie...
Melanie- Nervous Eaters Eat This!
Yesterdays Gone- Manual Scan Manual Scan 1
I Have a Date- Simpletones I Have A Date
Let's Be Friends Again- The Toms The Toms
The Wild One- Suzi Quatro The Wild One -The Greatest Hits
Holdin' On- Rooney Eureka
The Last Word- Svt Heart Of Stone 45
Come Out and Play- The Paley Brothers DIY Come Out And Play: American Power Pop I (1975-78)
^Surrender- Cheap Trick Heaven Tonight
Your Own Nightmare- Eugene Edwards My Favorite Revolution
Boys Will Be Boys- The Undertones Hypnotised
Friendship- Sloan A Sides Win Singles 1992-2005
Goin' Steady- The Producers On The Beach 45
Baby Let's Twist- The Dictators Blood Brothers
*That Girl- News That Girl 7"
*That Girl- The Scientists The Scientists
*That Girl- The Techtones Shake Some Action Vol. 6
*That Girl- The Windbreakers Meet The Windbreakers
Foolish- DM3 Dig it the Most
Your Little Hoodrat Friend- The Hold Steady Separation Sunday
(I Lost My Love On A)747- The Continentals Fizz Pop(Modern Rock) 7"
She's An Obsession- 20/20 20/20
I'm Not Down- The Clash London Calling
Overcome By Fumes- Rudi Big Time
>Just Like Me- Paul Revere & The Raiders Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The First Psychedelic Era Box Set
Sensation- The Motors Airport - The Motor's Greatest Hits
Play On- Raspberries Starting Over
Johnny Guitar- The Nice Boys The Nice Boys
Somewhere Outside- The Barracudas Drop Out
Sooner Or Later- Flintlock Glitterbest
You Don't Know- The Pleasers Thamesbeat
Dressed In Black- Ben Vaughn Mood Swings
Gimme Back My Dog- Slobberbone Everything You Thought Was Right Was Wrong Today
^Power Pop Peak: #62 Billboard Hot 100 7/22/78
*SacroSet: Songs About That Girl (but not Marlo Thomas, not that she doesn't rock too)
>Power Pop Prototype: 1965
Live rock & roll shows in Sonoma county are often feast or famine- and the last two weeks it's been feast city. Doobie Brothers manager/winery owner Bruce Cohn's annual Fall Music Festival finally had some Power Pop bands on the bill. Cheap Trick played in Sonoma Valley!! How cool is that? The $95 ticket for their Saturday show (which also included Grand Funk Railroad and the Doobies) was out of my price range but Sun FM morning man Ken Brown hooked me up with a pass for Sunday.
The first band I saw was The Turtles. The vocals were a little shaky but Flo & Eddie are great entertainers- Flo was especially funny. These guys produced a Boston rock & roll masterpiece (DMZ's first album) so they get props in my book. The next group was the Greg Kihn Band who impressed me by opening with The Only Ones' "Another Girl, Another Planet," a true Power Pop classic. Unfortunately Ryan (Son of Greg) Kihn's guitar was woefully out of tune so he blew the song's intro and solo, which was very frustrating. Who doesn't tune up before a show? The rest of the set was good, especially "The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em Like That)," but not great. I would have preferred to hear more originals- Greg Kihn has written a lot of great songs over the years- but they played it safe with several more covers.
I was never a fan of Night Ranger. Aside from the insane "Sister Christian" scene with Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights, I'd never given the band much thought. I have to say though, they really tore it up at BR Cohn on Sunday. Jack Blades is a great front man and the crowd of mostly 40 and 50-somethings that sat clapping politely for The Turtles and Greg Kihn was on its feet going nuts during Night Ranger's entire set. I've always believed in the power of live rock & roll- how it takes you out of yourself, making you part of something big and out of control. Been a long time since I've seen a band slaughter an audience like Night Ranger did that day. It got me thinking that loud, over the top, mind blowing rock shows, a staple of my youth, may be a thing of the past. I've never seen a hip hop performance with 1/20th the power of a rock show and the few live rap shows I've been to have sucked outright. (Seriously, how is a dude and a turntable going to stand in for screeching guitars alongside thundering bass and drums? With a dance crew? I think not.)
I want all young people to experience the transformative power of a great rock & roll show. I've taken my son Jack to see AC/DC and Green Day, so he's got the idea. In fact, I just asked him if he'd rather see a good band whose songs he didn't know play live or spend the day playing X-box Live with his friends. "Are their songs catchy?" he asked. "Yes," I replied, "Then the rock show- definitely." Now I just need to plan Nica's rock & roll indoctrination. I wonder if The Donnas are still playing out?
Speaking of great live bands, Australia's Hoodoo Gurus are the real deal. The week after the BR Cohn show the band played the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, about 25 minutes away. I was embarrassed that only 40 or so people came out (the theater probably holds 300) but the band rocked like it was a sold-out show. I've seen the Hoodoos about ten times over the last 20 years and they continue to be one of my favorite live bands. That's me with the group's lead singer and principle songwriter Dave Faulkner above. (My friend Frank took the picture- the three crystal-clear "practice shots" he took earlier didn't really help when it was go time.) I got to shake Dave's hand and tell him he is one of my favorite songwriters. He said "Thanks ...songwriting is what I take the most pride in." What a great guy. God bless The Hoodoo Gurus.
Here's Hour 1 of tonight's show (right click and "Save Target As")
and here's Hour 2
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