Evening Rig & Arms Akimbo @ 7th St Entry

Technically, the headliner at this show was The Alarmists, but I only heard the first 30 seconds of their first song, so I feel more qualified to speak to the quality of their openers. It is there that I shall begin.

Evening Rig was the first band on the bill. They played solid, fine-tuned Southern Rock. Meaning, they sounded a bit like Lynyrd Skynyrd or The Black Crowes. Or 10w40, but with less sleazy sex and more energy. Overall enjoyable bar music. It was when they ended their set with covers that their sound fell a little flat. Tom Petty they are not, but then again, who else can be?

Arms Akimbo was extremely fun to listen to! They reminded me of The English Beat meets Vampire Weekend - an English ska/mod mixture that rubbed me the right way. The Beatles cover they played fit right into their bouncy music, and the singing bassist was impressive. In fact, their entire set was fun and energetic. I wonder if it's a sign of the times that silly, light-headed music like this is so popular. I don't really care either way - I love it!! And was the kid in the England sweatshirt hilarious? Yes. Did I make fun of him? Of course. And the tall girl too. My judgmental gaze passes over no one.

To end my review: the Alarmists were acceptable.

P.S. I'd like to give a shout out to Brian Diamond, aka the best Rainbow cab driver ever. He killed none of us, including me for calling him a drug addict, and gave us jazz hands. This post is dedicated to you.