In Deep, Begging for More

So, here’s how it went down at the rock show Saturday night, Part 2: I’m in deep and begging for more

Daniel Crisler wins the prize for Most Perfect Outfit of the night – it’s OK to call it an outfit, right Shoals friends? Not only is Daniel a super talented musician, he’s super stylish on any given day much less when he’s paying homage to the one and only Billy Idol. Daniel — along with Mitch Mann on guitar and Eddie Martin on backing vocals — gave us his punk rock infused version of “Dancing With Myself” that evoked the 80s but was so very here and now. Nice work, Mr. Exotic Dangers.

I admit, I pre-gamed the”Muscle Shoals Meets the 80s” set list just a little over the past few weeks and I was pretty excited to see rising star, Lucie Tiger, for the first time. Lucie’s cover of Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer” takes the prize for Showing Up and Showing Out. Lucie held her own amongst OG music royalty — I’m looking at you, Shoals Soul Sisters (Marie Lewey and Cindy Walker.) In awe of those harmonies, y’all. Impressive.

The Right on Time Moment of the first set came with GMane and Russell Mefford’s rendition of Run DMC’s “Tricky.” If I was tasked with making a list of the Top 10 albums of the 80s that changed my life, Run DMC’s “Raising Hell” would be near the top of the list. If I had to make a list of the Top 10 most impressive Shoals music royalty that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet over the course of my life, both Russell and GMane would be near the top of that list, too. This seventh performance of the first set was absolute candy and I ate it up. There was an easy flow to the performance that oozed authenticity and the crowd bonded as we all sang along to rhymes forever etched on our hearts.

When Clint Bailey called the crowd to attention with the iconic opening keyboard sequence of Van Halen’s “Jump,” it felt a little like emerging from the seventh-inning stretch at the ballpark. Nick Franks had the crowd cheering right off the bat. Witnessing Mitch Mann channeling Eddie Van Halen was pretty stinking remarkable and Eddie Martin’s delivery of “jump” was right on the mark, too. This one wins the prize for the 80s Formula Perfection Moment of the night. Seriously, why in the world does the keyboard paired with killer guitar riffs actually work? How is that a thing? It shouldn’t work, y’all, but it just does. Chalk it up to that crazy bizarre 80s magic.

Who had Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” on their bingo card as a raising hands anthem? No? Yeah, me neither, but that’s exactly what happened via Clint Bailey. This performance takes the Most Unexpected House Party Moment of the night prize. Clint, Marie, Cindy, and those horns, y’all, were on fire the house down. No telling how many times I’ve heard this song over the years but Saturday night, though, experiencing it live via these seasoned, talented, passionate, professionals was truly enlightening. What a blast!

Stay tuned, friends. More to come soon.

(Photo credit: Dennis Keim)