ACE & THE RAGERS, WOLFGANG PARKER
Grog Shop
January 10
When most young folks try to start up a rock band these days, they obviously turn to their musical influences for
ideas. Currently, that means plenty of Nirvana idolizing for those who came of age in the last decade of the 20th
century. Usually, you can count on Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, the Ramones, the Beatles, the Who, or some combination
of the '60's and '70's pioneers, no matter what style.
Rarely is there ever an attempt to unearth the original rock and roll sounds of the '50's. Even harder to find are
people who not only discover and research it, but embrace and cherish it. Ace and the Ragers do just that, and their flashback performance Saturday night juked and jived its way around the crowded Grog Shop with very receptive ears and feet.
Led by the clickety-clak rhythm guitar and enthusiastic vocal attack of Ace, the Ragers consist of a standup bass, electric guitar, drums and dual saxophones (alto and tenor). The tight and effective lineup played true
to its song choices of "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Tear it Up," while Ace informed those in attendance early
on that dancers have the right of way when his band is supplying the swingin' tracks.
Clocking in with a show of nearly two hours, plenty of covers were run through. Although, playing Louis Jordan's "Caldonia" or a rambunctious tumble of "Going Back to Birmingham" to a predominantly youthful
crowd works two-fold, since songs like that aren't familiar to most in the first place.
They still ventured into standards like "Shake, Rattle, and Roll," but even then, a number like "Hound
Dog" owed more to Big Mama Thornton's backbeat blues version than Elvis Presley's crossover smash hit, a
testament to the fact that the Ragers just don't rehash themselves as a novelty Bill Haley and the Comets II.
More interesting, though, were Ace and the Ragers' original tunes like "Girl Crazy" and "Little Lizzy," which
proved the sincerity these guys have for the origins of rock and roll. Ace's lyrics had plenty of the same
messages that were issued years ago; like warning your mom and pop that this crazy racket is here to stay.
Sure its retro, but it's still all true.
The party continued to get looser and looser as the night progressed, and although Ace was battling illness,
the band picked up any slack. Having two saxophones let the Ragers cooly cruise on any Alvin Lee-like material,
and the band always had fun shouting out some sing-along romps.
Not only did the crowd get a mini history lesson, but they also got to tap their toes and cut some rug in the process. If everybody's parents knew what their kids were up to on this night, the crowd probably would have been doubled.
Comfortably nessled in the opening slot were Columbus's Wolfgang Parker & The Jumpin' Terrors. Clad in full pinstripe suits and suave style, this trio even turned back the clock further for its homage to swing. They've got
plenty of chops to ramble through the material, including a torpedo-firing drummer, but sometimes they pushed too much.
When the guitarist gutted out solos on his Fender Strat, the sound was almost too aggressive. When he finally
grabbed the old hollowbody for Peggy Lee's "Fever," Parker then cintinued to hit stride as they worked through
their own "Swing Baby, Swing," providing that same chemistry.
Crowd participation was also of the utmost importance for Parker's show, and when that's the case, you go straight to Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher." So they obliged, and grabbed some willing participants to help scittily scat about.
With a CD due out later this month, it will be interesting to see if Wolfgang Parker can continue to
show the promise that the band quickly flashed at times. They don't even necessarily have to tone things down
to capture all that the genre has to offer, but only listen to the advice of one of the men that they emulate
in Duke Ellington -- it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.
Kelly Benjamin
|
