Billy Woodfield - Sharp Class

I’m a sucker for a road trip to Portland, even if it’s a quickie. Oysters by the ocean and Geno’s are a high probability good time.

Tonight, courtesy of The Chelsea Curve, we have some kids – Sharp Class – from England on their first US tour. Their set is surrounded by a troika of top shelf local talents which, in my book, ups an already pressure filled cooker. Well, the kids are all right.

Jessie Best - Muck and the Mires

Muck & The Mires, unusually, held down the postposition. They ran fast and hard. They twisted three songs in and out of the set list for those in the crowd who were planning to attend the Jungle show the following night. I was psyched that they threw in "Hypnotic," a long-time personal fav.

Sharp Class

It’ not hard to see why the modtastic Sharp Class caught the eyes and ears of Boston’s Mod loving Chelsea Curve. Snazzy polo shirts, white socks, loafers and pressed trousers are the order of the night.

No indulgent solos just snappy blast that tie into and out of the jumpy bass and drums. Oliver Orton holds down the front with aplomb and a quintessentially English bark. His mates, Billy Woodfield on bass and Declan Mills on drums, confidently hold down the punky mix of The Jam, early ‘ho and a bit of blue eyed soul that runs through youthful veins.

They have a solid batch of tunes like "Move," "Keep the Faith," and "Tales of a Teenage Mind". Covers of "My Generation" and "Gimme Some Lovin’" drive home the touchpoints. Absolutely worth the space on your watch list if Mod is your cuppa.

Amanda - Tiger Bomb

Tiger Bomb pick up the gauntlet and take off with it. Taking her cue from Jesse Best, Jessica Smith is a dervish. Her push, pull and fills punctuate Lynda and Chris’s trade off vocals, guitars and ohh’s and ahh’s.

The room is packed and the local crew deliver the big girl group power punk pleasures straight to the feet of the dancing crowd.

Tim Gillis and Linda Pardee - The Chelsea Curve

The Chelsea Curve waste no time letting the crowd know how they earned there finals slot at the recent Rock ‘n Roll Rumble. The recent run shows up in the tight interplay. Tim Gillis keeps the solos terse and tart, Ron Belanger’s drums set the pace and Linda Pardee’s bass should be included in any list of major body muscles. Her vocals follow suit to great effect on new single "(How Can I) Resist You." The “shake some action” line in "Resist You" leads with a wink to a cover of the Groovie’s iconic number.

John Quincy - Muck and the Mires

Muck and the Mires

Pedro - Muck and the Mires

Billy Woodfield - Sharp Class

Sharp Class

Sharp Class

Sharp Class

Sharp Class

Sharp Class

Tiger Bomb

Jessica Smith - TigerBomb

Let's Dance

Linda Bean Pardee - The Chelsea Curve

Ron Belanger - The Chelsea Curve