Herb Gross & The Invictas dialed it way back to the beginning of garage rock time two
weeks ago at The California Brew Haus. The boys in the band still tool around
in a Cadillac hearse. They played a two-night stand to a packed — and diverse
as I’ve probably ever seen — house. Former Projectile drummer (now living in
Albany) Brian Goodman brought his
mom, who he pointed out knew more people there than he did. Projectile
guitarist Jerry Flannigan spied a
hot blonde gyrating on the dance floor only to realize she was his aunt when
she turned around.
The band kicked off
at 9 p.m., slowly easing the crowd into a frenzy with Kinks and Stones covers.
It’s when they pulled out their own “Long Tall Shorty” that the place really
started jumpin’.
What really struck me
was the band’s edginess. Though all the original cats are in their late 50s and
early 60s, they clearly exuded a delinquent air. Just a bit of that rock ‘n’
roll danger crept out from beneath their pleasant, golf-shirt exteriors. Besides
being a blast from the past for a ton of the folks there, it was proof that
Rochester has a pretty cool rock ‘n’ roll past that’s fun to visit if you know
where to look.
Wouldn’t it be cool
if other bands followed The Invictas’ lead and graced us with an encore? Hey,
let’s hear from The Showstoppers, The Capris, The Young Tyrants, Absolute Grey,
Empty Grave, New Math, The Rumbles, The Heard, Red, White, and Blues Band, The
Wilderness Family, Dog’s Life, Zezozose, Uncle Sam, The Brass Buttons, The Now,
The Raunchettes, The Shop Class Squares, The Antoinettes, Empty Grave, Steve
Alaimo & The Redcoats…
If you want a picture
of Rochester up-and-comer Teddy Geiger,
all you need to do is approach any teenage girl with a camera phone. There
seems to be a whole gaggle of ’em at every show just a-clickin’ away and
squealing. OK, so the kid’s shaggy and cute but he’s talented, too. His music
is moody pop without too much angst (I’m guessing his girlfriend hasn’t dumped
him yet).
Geiger and his band
casually took the High Falls Party in the Park stage Thursday, June 9, and
launched into his piano-driven, mid-tempo rock. The sound was outstanding: loud
and full, yet discernable. The crowd instantly warmed to him despite his
minimal stage banter and apparent shyness.
Geiger left the
stage, making way for Tumbao and a
pretty wicked thunderstorm that chased everyone away for a while. Tumbao braved
the inclemency nonetheless with its polyrhythmic Latin boogie for those with
umbrellas or those who didn’t mind getting soaked.
The clouds parted and
the throng returned for Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy’s set. When this band first hit the scene during the mid-’90s swing
craze, they were essentially a Royal Crown Revue knockoff and frankly a little
bit of a novelty. But somewhere along the line these guys got really good. On
Thursday they played tight and brassy with jazz precision and jump blues guts.
They had the whole Festival Site jitterin’ and buggin’.
And then there’s the
new school…
Mild-mannered coffee
barista Ian — the wild and loose teenager — transformed himself into a
gyrating, writhing, slithering, lizard king, offering me a Saturday-night
respite from Jazz Fest. As frontman for The
Teenage Junkies he howled and ranted and igged like Iggy. In fact the
band’s whole set was pretty Stooge-positive. I’ll continue to make fun of their
stupid name, but I really, really like this band. The raw energy and sweaty
reverence with which they played felt real.
Ending this night of
loud animal-charged energy were The UV
Rays, celebrating the release of a brand-new, blood red, four-song record.
This band played wildly unpredictable and loose. The songs were great and pure
’77. They are why some folks are afraid of rock ‘n’ roll and why others can’t
get enough. The crowd boiled while singer Kevin Wilcox surfed on top and
bottles broke and bodies flailed. ‘Twas a way cool spectacle.
This article appears in Jun 15-21, 2005.
