it's only rock 'n' roll

surprise! another post not about doctor who.

on tuesday night, mimi and i went to the derby to see a local band called the honeysuckle jones revival at a sheena metal showcase extravaganza. the bass player is a friend of a friend of mimi -- newly arrived in l.a. and already movin' and shakin', as evidenced by the schmoozing going on after the band's relatively short five-song set. the standout of that was a tune called "monster" (you can hear it on their myspace page, at the above link), which talked about drinking too much and junkie gazes and suchlike. classic stuff, well delivered -- despite the rather inexplicable meandering bridge. still, pretty cool.

they play a kind of vaguely bluesy, sorta classically punk, faintly gospel-tinged (the song "god save rock 'n' roll" even incorporated the spiritual "wade in the water"), southern sorta rock. kind of like a bar band with original songs.

the singer's name is crystal, and she's got one of those cool smoky rocker-chick voices. not to mention she's really cute and was wearing killer red stiletto boots. the drummer, tony, had on unappealing yellow-lensed bono-type shades but was definitely the glue holding this operation together. actually, bassist mike was also quite good, and the guitarist (david) had some tasty moments. i liked that they did some harmonizing, too. but they seemed under-powered, somehow. they weren't bad, and the four or five chicks at the front who were grooving were certainly into it. but they could've been better. partly the set was too short for them to really get into a mode and show all that they're about. but i felt like they sort of forced the issue by jamming out when it wasn't really necessary. maybe i just wanted them to be tighter and rock more. i'm all for a sprawling blues, but it has to be used sparingly and with purpose or my attention just wanders. also, sometimes mashing too many genres together makes a group seem indecisive, not versatile or eclectic.

ah, well. i wouldn't call it a bad time. the band will close the last night of international pop overthrow on august 9 at the good hurt, so you can hear it for yourself if you like.