A Bunch of Jerks, CLAGG, The Legendary Cazbats

Billy Connors Project, Fireking, Crow Follow

Club Bohemia

February 1 & 2, 2019

I spent my weekend at the recently resurrected, up from the basement dive bar ashes, Club Bohemia. Bohemia deserves more love. The classic Mickey Bliss in a smoking jacket. The burly surly doorman. The trip downstairs. The black paint. The strong cheap drinks. The smell of rock and roll. And, they’ve snazzed up the joint with stage curtains and a couple cushy couches. Finally, and best, if you can bring a few people in you can get a gig. As Mickey said, “Mohawks welcome”.

At the moment I smell cigars, jambalaya, and the Pats so I’m going with my favorite set of the weekend and a bunch of photos. Bunch of Jerks (see what I did there) had the now cursed 11 pm set. They took an already good night over the top.

These guys are the bastard love children of The Gala, Nashville Pussy, Talking Heads and an itty bitty twist of Crimson. They have their tongue or whatever planted deeply in their cheeks but they take their fun seriously. The tunes and topics nod and wink but the arrangements don’t chintz on delicious sly complexities. Stabby mugs and lurches around the stage and floor. Her vocals are a perfect fit for the band's short story pulp fictions.

The band is out to have a good time and you can just go along for the ride but, if you want to dig deeper, the effort gets rewarded. From Ethan’s martial beat on the drums here to fractured backup vocals there. From Mike’s short, tight, snakey guitar lines and solos there to Bat’s tightly wired bass doubling the drum kicks there. Don’t ignore the smart kid ‘check this line out’ endings. Last, but absolutely not least, this bunch of jerks invites all the other jerks in the crowd to join them for a celebratory encore rip through "Strutter" and "No More Mister Nice Guy".