Live Reviews
LIVE REVIEW: BONEBRAKE SYNCOPATORS

PHOTO by JENNIE WARREN
@ THE PIKE
FRI | AUG 3
When a band draws their name from a concept based around timing, they should at least be able to start within an hour of their posted set time. I can only nurse a beer for so long before I find myself needing another one. And that costs money. And brain cells. After watching the most ink-stained jazz crowd I have ever seen grumble and stumble around Frankie and Annette’s clubhouse, the band, led by X drummer D.J. Bonebrake, started with a brisk version of “Yardbird Suite.” The quintet (vibes, lap steel, upright bass, anachronistic Stratocaster, and the gaudiest drum set I’ve ever seen) played an hour-long set of four-to-the-floor standards, including “Limehouse Blues” and the Globetrotters fight song “Sweet Georgia Brown.” The band looked like a bunch of high-school teachers getting together for a fishing weekend, with their matching Hawaiian shirts and non-threatening haircuts, but amidst the hokeyness there were several flashes of great musicality. Bonebrake, with his vibes occupying a good chunk of the dining space, unleashed Red Norvo-like torrents up and down his instrument, and both guitarists were at their best when channeling a sun-soaked Les Paul sound with a twang equally Texan and Hawaiian. There was nothing particularly innovative about the sounds these guys made. They were skilled and entertaining, but what seemed to draw most of the crowd was the novelty. As these punk rockers start crashing into middle age, they begin digging deeper in the crates. It looks like Bonebrake has found the 78s. Now, if only he can find a watch.
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dstuck
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cultofsoc
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Kat Griffin
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