As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Friday, August 16, 2019

Stray Cats w/ The James Hunter Duo – Wolf Trap, 8/13/2019


 
Wolf Trap has a well-earned reputation for having appreciative but not wildly enthusiastic crowds. This was definitely not the case Tuesday evening, with the first clue being the two pre-show lines to buy merchandise, which were the longest I can remember in my years of Wolf Trap concert-going. (They do have a really cool logo.) At least half the crowd was standing for their opening song, and most were on their feet for a number of others (“Stray Cat Strut”, “Gene And Eddie”, their cover of Dick Dale’s “Misirlou”, “Sexy + 17”, and of course “Rock This Town”, as well as their three-song encore). Those who only know their hits would be surprised at the depth of their repertoire; “Lust ‘N’ Life”, which I hadn’t heard before, is now one of my favorites. (And it wasn’t just a nostalgia trip, as they threw in 5 songs from this year’s reunion album, 40.) Visually, Setzer certainly had his moments, although much of his flash consisted of his flying fingers on guitar. Drummer Slim Jim Phantom and upright bassist Lee Rocker were the most physical of the trio, with the latter also taking a share of the lead vocals. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable show.
 
 
James Hunter, along with Myles Weeks on upright bass, opened with a 30-minute set that was a trimmed-down version of his show in Annapolis last week – 3 covers, 3 new songs, and 3 previously-recorded originals. Somewhat surprisingly, given the length of the merch lines, most folks were in their seats for his set and seemed to appreciate it, with a fair number of us standing at the end. I was afraid he might lose the crowd permanently by trotting out the old chestnut “September In The Rain” as his second number, but any diminished enthusiasm was regained a couple songs later with his cover of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Step Back”.
 

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