Kenny Howes, Baby Baby

Dancin’ Outlaw Jesco White was due to appear at The Star Bar last week but apparently couldn’t make it. Instead, a bunch of local acts, old and new, played in his place.

First up, the old. A few years back, it seemed like Kenny Howes (and The Yeahs, back then) played every couple of days in one club or another. Then he moved away to work at the Rickenbocker factory or something and I hadn’t seen or heard him since. He’s been back to Atlanta a couple of times but I kept missing it. So when his name appeared a couple of days in advance of this hastily assembled lineup, I was determined to get there in time.

Kenny Howes and The WOW (members of What the…?) stepped up with Kenny tossing out a joke, something along the lines of, “It’s Kenny Howes for just another Wednesday at the Star Bar,” before plowing into power pop with all cylinders firing.

I was concerned that the band wouldn’t be as tight as the former Yeahs, but What the…? members know rock and roll and they’d obviously rehearsed. Kenny didn’t have a lot of new material, but the old songs were as hook-filled as ever. I don’t think I own any of his music on CD, yet I knew half the lyrics. Catchy!

Fan-damn-tastic.

Downstairs, members of Baby Baby were chomping at the bit to get started. I told them Kenny was done and the band charged into choppy, beat-filled rock reminiscent of bands like Oxford Collapse or Modest Mouse.

And it’s not just the two drummers that make this so percussive. The guitar and 5? 6?-string bass are punchy. My feet couldn’t stick to the floor, even in the Star Bar basement.

But it’s not all about rhythm. There are fun lyrics about bad dates, parties, the usual heartbreak  – you know, important stuff.

Their music has a constant sense of joy and play about it, both in sound and lyrical content. Only a couple of songs in, I was grinning ear to ear.

I picked up their CD, “Two bucks for three songs!” only to find it has one song twice, once in a more acoustic mix. So I’m looking forward to anything else these guys record – and their next show.

A couple of other bands played that night and I have some great photos. Unfortunately, I have no notes on them that I can find, so I can’t give them proper reviews. Maybe I’ll find the right notebook later this week and ressurect the memories lost after a long weekend of over-indulgance in every department!