John Wicks and The Records at The Comet Tavern

Seeing your Rock & Roll heroes perform decades after they’ve made the music that first drew you to them can be a risky proposition. Often they’ll have lost that certain essential vibe, soul or sound that once made them so special and you’ll be let down and disappointed but occasionally our heroes come through for us, meeting or exceeding our expectations, leaving us amazed and elated.

I’m happy to report that John Wicks still has it and that John Wicks and The Records delivered in full last Saturday night. John’s wonderful voice, those great harmonies, the killer guitar riffs, incessant hooks, buoyant melodies, the witty engaging lyrics, everything I’d hoped for and then some, because live the band added an additional power and grit sometimes lacking on The Records’ recordings.

They opened with the rocking “All Messed Up And Ready To Go”, which like The Stones’ “Start Me Up” makes for a perfect introductory number, followed by the super catchy “Hearts In Her Eyes” and a couple of great new tunes. I was especially taken with “That Girl Is Emily” (which Wicks dedicated to Syd Barrett) with its compelling lyrics, great guitar riff and highly infectious melody. The classic “Teenarama” from The Records’ debut album was another highlight among many although its comical lyrics about an ill-conceived romance with a teenager come off much more Lolita-like now that Wicks is in his mid-fifties than they did when he originally sang the song nearly 30 years ago.

As I looked around at the audience I noticed many like me nodding their heads to the beat, singing along or simply gawking in awe with wide grins stretched across their faces. The show climaxed with “Starry Eyes” The Records best known song and a prefect piece of timeless power pop.

I should quickly mention the other bands on the bill as all performed excellent sets. I was impressed with The Shy Ones who have a cool sound that’s one part The Beatles, one part The Shangri-Las and two parts The Ramones. This was only their second show but they played a tight and entertaining set. Keep an eye out for them. The Small Change sounded great as always with their infectious “Maximum R&B” style of power pop and Portland’s The Neat played a riff-heavy set of classic jangly power pop.

Great Powerpop Line-up at The Comet Saturday

This is going to be a great show so don’t miss it. All four bands are excellent, John Wicks and The Records are Powerpop Legends, Kurt Bloch will be spinning discs between sets and there will even be a secret surprise guest guaranteed to “blow your socks off.” Wear clean socks and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to initial them with a Sharpie.

Check back tomorrow for part one of my interview with John Wicks.

Recommended shows for the week of 4/13/08

Tuesday the 15th:
Elf Power/Flowers Forever/The Tripwires at the High Dive

Friday the 18th:
The Turn-Ons/Hypatia Lake/Charmparticles at the Sunset

Speaker Speaker/The Don’ts/The Apple War/Curtains For You at the Comet Tavern

Saturday the 19th:
John Wicks and The Records/The Small Change/The Neat/The Shy Ones at the Comet Tavern


Let me know if I’ve missed something.

The Neat 45" vinyl

The guys in The Neat, out of Portland, sent me their newly released 45" (You Are All I Need b/w Sunflower). First and foremost, I give them props for putting out vinyl. In the digital age, that's downright bold, and it takes me back about a decade ago, when I lived in Chapel Hill and bought countless 45's. I'd walk down to Franklin Street on my lunch break from working at UNC and pick up at least one a day.

I have to admit I have no idea who is still putting out vinyl in 2006 (almost 2007!). When I was buying them it was Teenbeat, and Merge, and Matador, and tons of singles labels and so forth. Somebody clue me in... is there still a market for 45's?

I broke open the ol' Motorola stereo (see below) and put the record on. Well, I tried to put the record on. As it turns out, the record they've released has a "big hole" and I didn't have an adaptor. I attempted to place the 45" carefully centered, and dropped the needle into place. But, if you've ever tried this, you know it's impossible to truly get it centered. So, what I heard was wobbly and slightly out of tune.

So, I headed over to their myspace page and they've got the same two songs posted there. I'm quite sad to report that they sound kinda out of tune over there, as well.

I really want to like these guys. I like their songs, and as I said when I reviewed their set at Comet a little while back, they harken back to the 1970s in a very convincing way... it doesn't feel like a put-on at all. But, for now, I'm going to have to call their 45" a neat little entry into the world of commerce, and then hope that they're able to get some assistance on the next round of recordings to work out the kinks. I'll be anxiously awaiting it!

Rock show photos

I headed down to the Comet Tavern to see the big rock show with The Tripwires, Press Corps, Young Sportsmen, and The Neat. It was an all around good show. Here are some photos and comments along the way.

First up were The Neat. I enjoyed their set. I said to my friend Chris that it's always interesting to hear bands who play music as if they had not been exposed to the 1990s or 2000s at all. Indeed, these guys sounded straight out of somewhere around 1979... and I mean that it a good way. I do have a christmas gift idea for the bass player, and I hope to goodness that drummers wearing berets are not making a comeback (see photo below). Otherwise, good set!

Oh, and I totally covet this guy's Vox teardrop repro. It's purdy.


The Neat

Next up were the Young Sportsmen. No need for me to gush, because I think you all get it by now that I really like these guys. Their set was packed with their usual Superdrag-meets-The Figgs pop rockery. Aside from the music, an interesting part of their set was when the Comet blew a fuse, leaving only the drummer able to make audible sounds. In his honor, here's a shot of him playing:


Young Sportsmen

Third on the bill was the Press Corps, who took me on a time warp to about 15 years ago. I probably won't make any friends by saying this, because the band is made up of well known musicians. But, I found the whole thing kind of boring. Of course, I'm a melody kind of guy, so your milage may vary.

I almost ran out of steam during the Press Corps set and considered leaving. But, I loves me some Tripwires, so I hung in there. And I'm glad I did, since I got my second wind as soon as they took the stage. I adore their mix of Big Star powerpop, admitted Nashvile Ramblers fascination and telecaster twang. Rootsy, but catchy. Rocking, but melodic. They're one of my favorite bands in town.

I took a bunch of photos of The Tripwires. These two are my favorites:


The Tripwires


The Tripwires