Texas trio blows the Limemonkey AWAY!!!

So I'm in St. Louis, which means only one thing: I had tickets to a concert. Last night was the big "Arch High School Reunion" show down at the Scottrade Center. Me and Leah parked at Union Station and had lunch/dinner in the food court before heading over to the show. I was tired. I mean really, really, really tired. I worked the night before, 11PM to7AM. When I got off I jumped in my car and made the 3 hour ride. I got to her parents house in time to see Leah off before her playoff game (they lost, they're out of the playoffs...which sucks). Anyway, despite being so tired I was ready for a good time.




The Gin Blossoms went on a little after 6:00PM. I felt bad for them, they were the youngest and thus least successful act. They were alright, they played all their radio hits: "Follow You Down," "Hey Jealousy," "Hear it From You," etc. I have nothing really good or bad to say about them, they kinda just were there.

Then they Stray Cats came one. Holy shit were they good!!! Brian Setzer is an AMAZING guitarist. I love rockabilly and New Wave...they were great. Good stage show (running around, jumping). They played "Stray Cat Strut" and of course, "Rock this Town." I wasn't really too familiar with them prior to the show (other than "Rock this Town" which everyone pretty much knows). After seeing this set though, I'm sold. As soon as I get some money (i.e. never) I'm going to buy a CD or two.

The Stray Cats were followed by The Pretenders. I had high hopes for the The Pretenders. They were just put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...chick guitarist/singer. They have a really good song in Guitar Hero II. And yet, they let me down. For one thing, Chrissy Hynde is suffering from "I'm not too old to be doing this"-syndrome. She still wearing the outfits, the hair, cussing, etc. Only she looks like my grandmother. I guess it's sexist, but women of a certain age can't pull off the "young and sexy" act. Beyond that, though, she sounded terrible--screeching her way through past hits like "Back on the Chain Gang," "My City was Gone," "Precious," "Special," and "I'll Stand by You." I was bored to tears (when my ears weren't in pain). Leah was pissed they didn't play "Tattoo Love Boys" (from GH). I glad to see them leave.

ZZ TOP came out after The Pretenders and fucking blew everyone away. I was expecting the guitar virtuosity...but not the sheer...for lack of a better word "heaviness" that the band has. ZZ Top is a heavy band. Sure, the blues influences were there...but they loud and vicious. The hits kept coming as the dudes with beards ripped through their greatest hits: "Cheap Sunglasses," "Pearl Necklace," "I'm Bad...I'm Nationwide," "Rough Boy," and of course..."La Grange." They also did a smokin' cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Foxy Lady." They busted the big fuzzy guitars out for "Legs" (which made me happy). The Top sounded great...they moved like they were still kids (instead of being 30+ year band vets). Overall, they kicked ass.

Leah still fell asleep (how the hell she managed that is beyond me). Anyway, a good time was had by all. As we were leaving, we even got our "diploma":