An Evening with Skinny Alley

Yesterday I had a Great evening at shitty Zero-G (decor sucks). If u r into 60’s pop, 70’s rock (& R&B) & yet don’t have a favorite genre- if u love Steely Dan- if u like virtuoso guitaring a la Santana, jam bands & live music; Then Skinny Alley is a home-grown band for u. Calcutta based musicians have been doing the scene way before I was born. They had released an album ‘Escape the Roar’ last year. A video of the song ‘Fence’ can be still be sighted, from time to time, on the Zee MGM channel.

They kicked off w/ a song called ‘Hey, Hey’. Describing the show & how the band played is well, pointless as it is one of those should’ve-been-there affairs. Highlights:
They did 3 Steely Dan numbers- Cousin Dupree, Green Earrings & Reelin’ in the Years. The latter was rendered much more up-tempo than usual with an unheard of guitar solo. The Drummer who looked like Sylvester Stallone in the ‘70s flick ‘Serpico’ sang a few songs too. The vocalist sang w/ gusto & engaged the crowd w/ good humor. The band also did a version of Hendrix’s Voodoo Child & a Flora Purim song. They also covered Audioslave's 'Light My Way" & a song by John Mayall. At the end of the evening they had gone through a gamut – Indigo Blues, Delta Blues, Jazz, Funk and so on. The guitar solos where MUCHO AWESOME!

Mostly they stuck to their stuff which was like a mixed bag. Their songs had some really wicked riffs & had that I'm-a-stud-in-a-muscle-car feel. They had a few a songs abt social issues like relegious strife & children giving birth. But those songs r the last thing u ought to perform at a night club & they smoothly (yet sadly) glided over most aerodynamically shapped heads, including mine. YAWWWNNN. Also there was a very pyschadelic pop number which they said is going into their second album. The singer sang w/ feeling & the band was one cohesive unit - all very seasoned & professional. The guy in charge of the sound system & mixer did a great job too. Overall it was 3 hrs of sound entertainment. Music was mature & devoid of punk-rock droppings. BUY THE ALBUM!

If u guys missed it & still want to see them in B'lore- They r playing at Landmark, The Forum (Koramangala) today (26th April) at 6:30pm.