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Sat. June 26 Chris Cote, singer for Rockbottom, throws these notions at you. "Do you like your rock with wigs? Do you long for a time when fancy men placed their high hee led boots on the monitor? Do you remember laughter? Then you will willingly submit as Rockbottom pummels you with a set of classic rock covers at Johnny D’s Saturday June 26. What is the occasion? Why it’s five days after the solstice, when the unicorns dance fleetingly in the meadow. But you knew that." Cote - who also plays in the bewigged Upper Crust and the non-bewigged Giant Kings - is liberally taking lyrics from some classic - some would venture overwrought lyrics - of '70s rock bands. The kind of flowery symbolism that got blown out of the water when punk kicked in the door. But time has a way of turning things upside down and making what was uncool cool again or finding irony in yesterday's profundities or, hey, just plain old rocking out in the way the mainstream did it 35 years ago.
Cote describes Rockbottom as "a classic rock cover band. Originally started as a house band for the now-defunct Lilli’s club in Somerville, the group takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to performance (think: wigs, flares, beads, vintage stage banter and plentiful stage refreshments) but plays their classic material as accurately as possible.
The repertoire ranges from Led Zeppelin, Free, and Sweet to Judas Priest, as well as shameless covers of songs by corporate rock mainstays like Foreigner and Journey. The band likes to refer to the more questionable material as “forehead slappers,” due to the reaction of the audience frequently observed from the stage.
Band members include drummer Jim Janota (Upper Crust, Bags, Lyres),bassist David Fredette (Upper Crust, Titanics) and guitarists Chris Blue (Georgia Overdrive, Rudds, Rag Iron, United States) and Charles Hansen (Andrea Gillis, Ross Phasor). 33 and Thee Cuban Wheels open the 10 p.m. show. Tix: $10. 17 Holland St., Somerville, 617=776-2004 www.johnnyds.com |
