On a beautiful evening in Huntington on Long Island, my wife and I went to The Paramount last night to catch the Psychedelic Furs. We arrived at around 8 PM and there could not have been more than twenty patrons in front of the stage for the opening band Bash and Pop. The New York Yankees had not yet lost Game 7 of the MLB American League Championship and a black t-shirt at the merchandise table shouted “Who the fuck is Tommy Stinson?” Tommy Stinson was the bassist for The Replacements and more recently played with Axel Rose’s dangerous pre-reunion version of Guns N’ Roses. Bash and Pop, a four man band  fronted with the rock and roll swagger of Mr. Stinson, went through their set list for the small crowd of early arrivers and appeared to add a couple of songs on the back end of the set in a seemingly rare act of spontaneity these days maximizing their slot and in so doing making me a fan. The band deserved better as far as bodies in the venue but they did not seem to mind and ran through songs in rapid succession. Bash and Pop are an old school kick ass rock and roll band and I was glad we got to The Paramount early enough to catch them.

The Psychedelic Furs began their journey in 1977 and had their share of hits on the radio. The now mature singer exudes a positive energy and his brother the bass player was a throwback to another time when groups like The Cure roamed the earth.The Psychedelic Furs were never a favorite of mine but they always on the radar screen in the 1970’s and 1980’s when New Wave and Alternative music were at its peak. The Paramount is a great venue showcasing a wide variety of acts and it is great to be able to catch yet another band that I had missed seeing through the years in a great party town like Huntington on a Saturday night.

Pretty in Pink

Rock on!

GQ