Hard Again Wednesdays, All Star Jam
The Vine Street Lounge
Hollywood, California
September 20, 2006
By Victoria
(SugarBuzz Hollywood)
Hollywood is nipping at the heels of The Sunset Strip for Rock and Roll Central. Nipping hard and winning. We found the best of the best on Wednesday nights at the new Vine Street Lounge. This cool new club is located on the nexus of Hollywood and Vine. The center of the universe in a previous era when Hollywood was in its teens. Comeback? Yeah, it’s a definite yes. You heard it here first.
The Vine Street Lounge is a nice size. Décor is very 40’s noir. Dark and lovely. The bar is stylish chrome and opalescent under-lit. Fits about 400 or so with a split level and a seven foot high stage and a super-sweet, bouffed out lounge area for the artists that has Rat Pack written all over it. The players love to play there.
Now this Wednesday thing, they call it Hard Again, “Hollywood’s best All Star Jam.” We’ve heard this one before but this time it for real. Clem Burke f Blondie (Rock and Roll Hall of Famer), Coz Canler of The Romantics, Eddie Munoz of Plimsouls are joined by Bruce Witkin on bass who switches off lead vocals with handsome, Rhett Frazier.
Promises of “Special Surprise Guests” on the night we were there meant Elliot Easton from the Cars. How could this get better? Two words; No Cover! So even if you aren’t on the list, you’re in. Just ask Diva Stephanie at the door. She’s the List Lady for Metal Skool and Club Scream. Miss Steph is one of many regulars from the Strip that are now making the Vine Street Lounge the hippest club in town.
And they got DJ Sue spinning stuff so sweet and obscure, we heard a Kinks song we never heard before. Impossible but true. Sweet Sue is also rumored to be romantically linked to one of the guitar players (Pssst, its Eddie Munoz!)
The music from Hard Again is straight from Heaven. Taken mostly from the British Invasion song book; Kinks Yardbirds, the Who and those amazing Rolling Stones B-sides, like “Out of Time.”
Extra pretty Garage classic “Shakin’All Over” is done with an angry slide ala Ry Cooder and touch faster. Singer Brett Frazier likes to move to the groove with a short military step and keeps his arms close like he’s dancing in a phone booth. And speaking of Phil Spector, they do one of his too, “Mountain High” from the Ike and Tina Turner catalog.
Our favorite had to be Paul Revere and the Raiders “Just Like Me.” Except for the Animals “Baby Can I Take You Home” and Yardbird’s “Train Kept a Rollin.” No, wait, no, the best was “Down Home Girl.” A high fashion rant from the swamp about perfume made from turnip greens and dresses of fiber glass off the magnificent “Rolling Stones Now” album.
Mixing it up real nice with old R&B stuff like “CC Rider,” Motown gold “I’ll Be Doggone,” Ray Charles’ “Wha’d I Say” and one of Chuck Berry’s finest “Brown Eyed Handsome Man.” Hey, we told this stuff was from Heaven.
Here’s the full rundown:
First Set:
Shakin All Over
Baby Can I Take You Home
Down Home Girl
Train Kept a Rollin
Out of Time
Witch Doctor
Steppin’ Stone
I’m Not Talking
Mountain High
Second Set
Boom Boom Boom
CC Rider
I’d Be Doggone
Brown Eyed Handsome Man
Shakin Street
Just Like Me
Born Under a Bad Sign
I Wish it Would Rain
Route 66
Wha’d I Say
Hard Again is taking October off to do some touring and they promise to be back in November. Hurry home. We can’t wait.