Some bands are worth the wait. Some shows leave you glowing, sweaty, tired, footsore, but with a stupid grin on your face that lasts for hours.
Some shows remind you why you love rock’n’roll.
Boss Hog’s reunion was everything teenage me would’ve wanted, and everything that makes grownup, cynical me let down my defenses and bliss out on the music. And on the pure heat between Cristina Martinez and Jon Spencer, easily the sexiest couple in rock. (Photo by Gabi Porter/Prefix)
And while I’m at it, can I mention that the world is sorely lacking in female rock stars these days, and especially ones with Martinez’s ferocious stage presence. The years since her band’s last show haven’t dimmed it a bit. She prowled the stage like a panther, snarling and smiling, the audience eating out of her hand, while her husband dipped and thrust and the rest of the band thrashed along.
Opening act Those Darlin’s were totally adorable. Three guitar-playing foul-mouthed country girls and a drummer in a skintight American Flag t-shirt rocked out like the lost love children of Exene Cervenka and the Carter Family. I was especially enamored of the girl in the fox hat–complete with tail–who took her shirt off halfway through the show like it was nothing.
Hostess Dirty Martini kept things sassy, and burlesque queen Harvest Moon heated the place up considerably, but I was there for the main event. Still, there’s something awesome about a show that offers a little bit of everything to get you warmed up.
I was ready for a good show. I expected nothing less. But I got way more than that. It’s possible to love a band for years and not truly appreciate them until they’re in front of you and you can see and feel all the chemistry that not only holds the band together, but ropes in the whole crowd.
Everyone there seemed to feel it. We’re jaded NYC hipsters, those of us old enough to remember and love Boss Hog, but we danced anyway. We couldn’t help it. Pop tarts be damned, Cristina Martinez is the queen of rock’n’roll.
-Sarah J
