Review of Sunset Strip Live at the Rockin’ Taco JANUARY 16, 2021 BY SHANNON MARIE LEAVE A COMMENT (parental guidance advised) Keep it classy, dad said when I tried to walk out the door in my bikini top/cut-off/flip-flop teenage fashion statement. Keep it classy, mom said, colorful words would accidentally slip out. Keep it classy, I thought to myself, way too often, throughout my suburban life of old. But I didn’t always want to. To begin this review, I need to provide a little disclaimer: Even in my most Kareniest days, I had a thing for Bret Michaels, and I watched Rock of Love obsessively, while recognizing that he is not even very talented. Nevertheless, I kind of secretly wished I could be a contender on this show of star-struck groupies. (Aside to girlfriends: I know, RIGHT???). So, Sunset Strip had me at the get-go, because the brown-eyed Bret Michaels-look alike lead singer had his same look and vibe, except better. And that may have affected my reaction to this band just a teensy, tiny, little bit. But anyway, I’ve seen a lot of cover bands, and while the set lists often overlap, the experience is always different. Sunset Strip was unique from many I’ve seen, because it seemed a full-fledged rock-and-roll concert (or at least the crowd thought so), and not just a show. They started out strong: Hey little thing, let me light your candle, cause mama I’m sure I’m sure I’m hard to handle now! And I was immediately in my element with middle-aged Roswell rocker chicks galore breaking out of their princess cages and flocking to the stage to join the heat. And things remained hard and rocking, as they pounded us throughout the evening, and kept us in a state of perpetual ecstasy (did I not say parental guidance was advised for this review? 🙂 ) In fact, I noticed that most times, the band had the majority of the restaurant crowd engaged, and that’s not something you see every day, especially not in the OTP burbs. I did see one man in a madras shirt, who couldn’t tear his eyes away from the televised football to join in the jam even though his was literally RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE of it all, and another poor fellow who just obliviously let the mosh pit balloon bop him on the head. But for the most part, these Toms and Jerrys were hopping, even though they were probably working through the weekend and not for it, despite the sing-along that occurred when the band went into that song. Sunset Strip knew their audience and how to grab what was real and juicy and alive in them (I swear these puns are happening on their own). There was that bag-pipey intro to Sweet Child o’ Mine, which up to that moment, I didn’t think anyone but Slash could do, Journey moments that I might have stopped believing with another band, but not with this one, and a particularly amazing Van Halen solo jam. One of the guitarists seemed happy to not be in the limelight, but he came alive out of the shadows for solos with a smile that let his soul shine. The other one kept the singer and me both happy, as evidenced by the singer’s Jimi Hendrix style, fire-fanning ruku. But what I liked most was that the singer did not keep things classy at all. He urged us to tip, so that they could keep drugs off the street (and I gave them a good one, hoping it wasn’t really for that). He twerked his sweet butt in Let’s Go Crazy to some very appreciative ladies (not naming names), and we did go crazy. He said, “I Want YOU to Want ME. That’s right, I’m a narcissist!” before going into that one, and lots of us did, despite the warning (again, not naming names). He humped the microphone stand at one point. And while all these antics were no doubt part of the show, I personally loved it. He was obviously having a blast, and so were we. That’s not to say that I didn’t see some way classy stuff, like that they had masks made with their band logo on it (and I will wear mine with pride), and I noticed how the singer gave as much attention to the aging groupies when they approached the stage as he did to the pretty young things. But overall, I will make it a point to attend many future shows, because, for the most part, Sunset Strip did NOT keep it classy, and, you know what? That’s what makes everything so much more fun. I think my suburban friends were learning that, too. 😉