Why Rock & Roll is Good (or Thank God for the Dollfaces & the Earworms)

 Many people always ask me how I can keep going to see all these shows over and over and never get tired of it.  My stock answer was always “Well – I don’t have a life”, but that was just a flippant answer to a serious question.  What is so great about live rock & roll that brings me coming back?  I have to admit that I’m not real crazy about some of the stupid partying that goes on in these places.  I always loved the Gold Dollar because so few people really knew about it, but on some weekends the Lager House looks like a bad imitation of a Royal Oak bar.  In the last couple of weeks I found the answer staring me in my face.  The only reason I keep going to shows is the opportunity to see great talent, both young and not so young, play their guts out for us. 

A couple of weeks ago I rushed down to the Lager House to catch the first band on the bill – the Dollfaces.  These guys are way too young to be so good; it’s almost scary to think of how great they’ll be in a few years.  In just a few months they went from “these guys are pretty good” to “I better not miss any more shows by these guys”.  I never pretended to be a rock & roll critic, but right now there are very few bands in this city that can match what these kids are already doing.  Seeing the Dollfaces live is good enough to make me keep coming back for more.

Last weekend I saw another band that deserves way more attention than they’ve been getting.  These are the Earworms; they don’t play that often and sometimes it’s hard to find out where they’re actually performing.  This time they played the New Dodge in Hamtramck and they just positively rocked the place.  The Earworms are really the old Reruns (with a 15 year break). Back in the glory days of the early Detroit punk scene, the Reruns rocked all over town at places like Bookies and Lili’s.  They put out 2 great singles, which have been appropriated on various compilations and then broke up.  Well, the guys are back – a bit older and a lot smarter and playing better than ever. 

For me – going out to see bands was never about trying to catch what happens to be popular at the time or trying to hang out at the newest cool club in town.  It’s always been about the music – different things around you will always change, but bands like the Dollfaces and the Earworms make it so much easier for me to keep coming back for more.