Legendary ‘60s garage rockers reunite for a 1990 live date
Twenty years after these ‘60s garage-punk legends packed it in, they got back together to play a one-off live gig at a club in their native Minneapolis. Reaching back past their hard- and psych-rock evolution to their punk-rock roots, the group, with original lead vocalist Denny Waite in fine voice, launches their reunion with the signature “Action Woman,†and then reels off a string of well-picked period covers, including British Invasion titles from the Who, Small Faces, Yardbirds, Zombies and Spencer Davis Group, and blues tunes from Otis Rush and Mose Alison. The band plays tight, hard and loud, just as you might imagine they did in 1967 when their first album, Distortions, was released. This sounds more like a talented, stylish and well-rehearsed cover band than aging garage-rockers reliving their glory years. It’s no “Substitute†for the band’s original albums, particularly the debut, but it’s a nice coda to their career. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com] 