Well, I was there for Detroit Cobras, Cheap Trick and some of Cake.
I thought Detroit Cobras were great; not sure I'd get the CD for my home listening pleasure, but it's exactly that kind of pumping bar band music that you have to enjoy out at a club with lots of beer going down. Good stage presence, just plain cool.
Cheap Trick of course ROCKED THE HOUSE. So fantastic. The sound wasn't perfect (but not bad). And they were stuck with one hour to play, and have a new album to schill, so we didn't get every hit, but Dream Police and Surrender were worth the price of admission all by themselves, in Bags' book. Why oh why do I never get a guitar pick when 400 are thrown out to the crowd?
I'm not into Cake and know only their hits, but was ready to listen. They started out with sound problems, and while they got the sound on by the second song, it didn't seem to improve much. Not for me, so thank my lucky stars I went downstairs to the Back Bar, because whom should I meet but another power pop god, Tommy Keene himself. I recognized him and said hi, and he actually remembered me from an on-air interview I did with him on my college radio station in Poughkeepsie in 1988. WOW. So he sat and had a beer with us. He's doing the Iota show because he's in town staying with his Dad for other stuff.
PS, he's with the whole band for the Iota show. I will not miss this for anything. Screw the guitar picks, I got 15 minutes with Tommy Keene!
:p
