The Donnas, Bratmobile and The Mooney Suzuki @ the Galaxy
Women in rock face an uphill battle. A woman with a guitar is not only judged by her songs but by her looks, making success in rock and roll that much harder. But some women just seem like they are up to the challenge. Think of Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, and Liz Phair if you say women can’t rock better than half the men out there.
Throw the Donnas into that category, who played to a packed audience at the Galaxy, churning out three chord rock songs as if their lives depended on it. The Donnas are the female equivalent to the Ramones, singing about dating boys, smoking dope and starting fights.
So far, their new album, The Donnas Turn 21, is the year’s best, and with songs like “40 Boys in 40 Nights” and “You’ve Got A Crush On Me,” it’s going to hard to top.
The Donnas scream between songs, talk about porn, and seduce the audience during the hour-long set, working the Galaxy into a fever pitch. Checkin’ It Out” from American Teenage Rock’N’Roll Machine, is the best song of the night. And with lyrics like, “I know about getting it on/And I want a little piece of you,” who could argue?
As an added bonus, The Donnas played a punishing cover of Judas Priest’s “Living After Midnight,” that made Rob Halford look like, well, a girl. The legendary riot grrrls, Bratmobile were second on the bill, concentrating of songs like “Eating Toothpaste” from their latest effort, Ladies, Women and Girls.
Outdoing Bratmobile’s fine set was The Mooney Suzuki from New York City. The boys played good ol’ rock and roll evoking the spirit of the New York Dolls, Royal Trux, the MC5, Tricky Woo, and the Kinks. “Ladies and gentleman,” leader Sammy James Jr. shouted in his best Rob Tyner impression, “we got some songs for ya, and we’re gonna play em’!” And when James Jr. croons, “Today I heard the songbird sing a sweet melody” on “A Song For Today,” we couldn’t agree more.
Steve Earle & the Dukes w/ Stacey Earle @ the Pageant
“You’ve never been to one of these, have you?” commented Steve Earle after a fan shouted out a request early into his set. “I pretty much play whatever the f*** I want!” shouted rock’s ultimate country outlaw.
The show at the Pageant was one of the final gigs in support of Earle’s newest, and finest, offering, Transcendental Blues. What resulted was a two-and-a-half hour lesson in songwriting. Steve Earle and the Dukes, which now includes drummer Will Rigby from the dB’s, promptly started with the title track and “Everyone’s In Love With You,” from Transcendental Blues, before moving onto older favorites like “I Ain’t Ever Satisfied” and “Devil’s Right Hand.”
Earle prefaced “Telephone Road,” from El Corazon, by telling of his road trip across Texas to see an all-day rock show featuring ZZ Top and Fleetwood Mac, then made a delicate transition into “Lonelier Than This”
The night’s emphasis was clearly on his latest effort, as the band showcased “I Don’t Want to Lose You Yet,” “Over Yonder (Jonathan’s Song)”, and even “The Galway Girl,” which was recorded with accordion player Sharon Shannon. During one of Earle’s two encores, sister Stacey Earle, who mesmerized the crowd with a delicate opening set of country ballads like “Losers Weep,” shared lead vocal duties for “When I Fall.”
As always, Earle’s encores featured some amazing covers including the Beatles’ “No Reply,” “Time Has Come Today” by the Chambers Brothers, and “Windfall” by Son Volt. Three-fourths of the Bottle Rockets joined the band for a brilliant rendition of “I’ll Be Coming Around,” which preceded an amazing run-through of Earle’s “Guitar Town.”
Finally the band bid farewell with a hillbilly version of the Stones classic, “Sweet Virginia.”
Steve Earle is playing in Memphis, Tennessee on May 4-6, with the likes of the Cult, Ben Harper, Bob Dylan and the Black Crowes, as a part of the Beale Street Music Festival. It’s a show not to be missed.
