Boston Groupie News - Reviews by John Keegan

Nott the Hoople

The Lizard Lounge

Oct 24, 2019

Thee Fightin' Fish, Sara & the Scaliwags, Glider, Triple Thick with Kenne Highland, Baabes

Thunder Road

Oct 25, 2019

Michelle Paulhus

The tradition of bands being possessed by alter egos on Halloween got off to a highlight reel start at the red-light Lizard Lounge last night. Nott the Hoople went deep and wide with a cavalcade of local rock stars working the Ian Hunter songbook. Music director Phil Aiken kept all the meteors from spinning off into space with ample help from Chris Anzalone on drums and Ed Riemer on bass. Billy Loosigian had each songs’ guitar hook down and still found time to inspire bursts of air guitar and Mick Ralphs memories particulary on the Ready For Love solo. Paul Ahlstrand took advantage of his time and laid down the tenor skronk in all the right places.

The crowd and band were in sync from note one as a tag team of local luminaries moved back and forth into and out of the spotlight. Lee Harrington got a bucket list check-off point when he did a cranked version of early Mott 's Walking with a Mountain. Simon Ritt touched up I Wish I Was Your Mother, Michelle Paulhus put on the party with Just Another Night, Anthony Kaczynski got to take his Shades Off and Kim Ackland took on the lilting, all but solo, 3000 Miles From Here. The pace never wavered. The Hooplettes - Jen D’Angora, Tony K., Michelle Paulhus, and Kim Ackland - pushed choruses into the stratosphere. The crowd was happy to jump on for the ride. After almost 30 songs, Pip Everett and the band took it home with heart on the sleeve runs through Saturday Gigs and All the Young Dudes.

Night two of alter ego bands moves to Thunder Road. It’s obvious that everyone took their fun seriously and everything was surprisingly tight. Thee Fightin’ Fish took on Neil and Crazy Horse. Andy Excuse roars through the vocals. Bob Roos soars on the Neil spazz guitar tone. Sara & the Scaliwags resurrect Tom Petty to good effect with Sara deadpanning “It’s good to be alive again!” and The Q getting a chance to lay down some big bass.

Cal Cali and Glider go for the Dylan. They lead with the slow, challenging Visions of Johanna and pull it off. Cal has the passion going. The classic changes give Fightin’ Fish, S and the S’s and Glider plenty of strong tunes to stretch out in. The sounds that pulled the Petty and Dylan tunes up and over the top came from Al Schmel’s always lysergic guitar strangling - like a day-glow paint job on a peeling house.

Simon Ritt
Triple Thick and Kenne Highland channeled Roky Ericson with a psycho garage explosion. Zombies, Fire Engine, I Walk with Demons, Don’t Slander Me. Kenne has the voice and the look. The band was spittin’ fire, especially Greg #2 on guitar with songs that gave him an opportunity to stretch his solos beyond the triple thick boundary.

Baabes blew the dust off the Book of the Dead and raised The Mummies up from eternal damnation. I’m not sure if it’s possible with Baabes, but if anything, the gauze bandages and the flying keyboard gave them license to be even more unwrapped then usual. Everything is turned up to 11. Gauze, keyboard, and Johnny fly through the air. Frankie Sinn’s guitar is set to eviscerate. The riffs are relentless. The vibration is off the scale.

Burn the tana leaves. Make up more elixir. Bring Imhotep back from the dead.