Saw Brian Setzer last night and it was a fantastic show. He comes out initially with his players from his new instrumental album, stand-up bass and a drummer and does some great instrumental rock 'n' rolling stuff. Then he brings out another guy who adds some acoustic guitar and piano parts and does a few more, including a cover of Folsom Prison Blues, and they end up just tearing things up with some more instrumental rockabilly madness.

Then the lights go down and the guys outside Setzer walk off and he brings out Slim Jim Phantom and his stand up drum kit and a new stand up bass player, young kid who can play like a demon, and they rip through some Stray Cats hits with some seriously amazing, long instrumental breaks. After the first few, the other bass player comes back and you have double bass action, until Setzer disappears and comes out with his own and you have a three way stand up bass dual. Once that's over, the whole crowd, two bass players, two drummers, piano and Setzer rip through another instrumental before walking off. The whole crowd comes back out and does an extended version of Rock This Town with solos all around...the crowd wasn't budging so they came back for one more that actually seemed like a real not just a perfunctory encore to close out the night.

One of the best rock 'n' roll shows I've seen for a long time, especially from a purely musical standpoint with everyone on that stage being top notch. I'm as much a fan of anyone of trashy rock without much of a care about what kind of players are up there but every now and then seeing a show where all of the boys can seriously play is just great to watch. Great way to start a week on a Monday night.

Man that sounds like a blast, but with the holidays coming up, i don't know if i can swing two tix at $30 a pop.

I mean, i could swing it, but it probably wouldn't be the smartest thing to do.

I'd gladly spend $30 on a ticket for a band like that that I knew would be money well spent versus some young band charging the same due to overhype.

Looks like they're not playing down here though.

Eh... I was waffling at the $30 myself, but was able to come by a couple of freebies. Still, had I known it would be that good of a show, I'd have forked over $30 without too much complaint. Was easily better than a pair of typical $15 shows. Then again, I am a total sucker for some good rockabilly so figure that into my reaction.

Most of the shows i go to are in the $5-8 range, or i catch other bands that i share bills with. I get a decent amount of freebies as well. The Paul Simon tix were courtesy of the Princess of Darkness' father.

I ought to just go.

Yeah, I hear ya. I tend to see more local bands for $5 or free than anything else myself. Most smaller national acts charge $10-$15 around here. $30 is a big ticket show for me. If I had to make the call instead of getting in free I'd have been likely to pass considering I don't think I've gone to a show I had to pay for that was ticketed at $20 or more since Tom Waits about three years or so ago. So as much as I enjoyed it and thought it was worth it, I can totally see passing at that price. Especially if you gotta buy a pair of tickets and you figure in drinks, it's not a cheap evening.

sounds like something i would love, but i don't see any east coast tour dates.