29 Jan 14

Welcome to the (snowy) jungle, blogspot readers! Tonight, SouthSide was very excited to see rocker, ex-Guns-n-Roses guitarist (during the Use Your Illusion tour) now solo artist fronting his own band, Gilby Clarke performing on stage at Double Door. This rock show also featured local acts like Romantic Rebel and Young Distractions with Bryan Wilkinson opening in support of Gilby's headlining performance.
 
SouthSide recommends checking out the hard rockers, Romantic Rebel (http://www.r-rebel.com) at their next performance. Though liking the energy and hardcore guitar sound, this reviewer did notice the band lacked a certain rock edge in which would electrified the group's stage presence a little more. There were plenty of guitar riffs to sink your head banging teeth into especially during the gritty instrumental bridges despite needing more of an edgy vibe to really connect with its hard rock audience. This reviewer suggests rockin' out to the band's hot single "Sorry" (off Romantic's debut album coming out in spring) and "New Way to Sin" - where female lead KT knocks you off your feet with the dynamic power of her raspy vocals.

Meanwhile, the trio of Young Distractions (http://www.facebook.com/youngdistractions) pumped this audience with an electrifying hot performance featuring a fiery energy combination of garage/punk/rockabilly pop, blogspot readers. Though immediately having everyone feeling the intense guitar rhythms, this reviewer noted that the band (at first) weren't big on engaging the fans with them and/or their music. She understands there was a time constraint due to Gilby's headlining set but it would have been nice they tried connecting with the audience at some point of their show for example like when the bassist hopped off stage to rock with the few close to the stage. Overall she recommends rockin' your inner garage child to the trippy punk song "Spaceship" and "Teenage Attraction".

Carving a sold niche as a solo guitarist/artist, blogspot readers, Gilby Clarke and his band were ready to rock out Double Door on this chilly night ...but don't expect any Guns-n-Roses during his performance. Simply expect Gilby to rock the stage with a vibrant selection of his songs as well as a few cover renditions like "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" and Bob Dylan's "Knocking On Heaven's Door". SouthSide, though enjoying the performance, found it somewhat lackluster at times in which there wasn't much reaction from the audience. Gilby did bring the heat and guitar edge while performing his first cover and during songs like "Motocycle Cowboy" and "Be Yourself" where your ears were wowed by the emotional cry of his guitar perfectly matching his vocals on lyrics. However, there were moments when he worked too hard trying to the engage the same fans to rock out with him after an exciting rendition of "It's Only Rock 'n Roll".  Still, Gilby performed with plenty of heart and soul ...heart-pounding excitement from start to finish ...creating fun for the group of big-haired rockers head banging in front of the stage. Gilby's drummer, Jim, caught this reviewer's interest because his drumming style and set-up reminded her of a good friend by the way he would hit the cymbals sight unseen. SouthSide recommends checking out the song "Alien" for that time when you feel you don't belong, blogspot readers. This particular song thrilled to the bone with electrifying riffs to exciting percussion rhythms. For more music and tour information, visit http://www.gilbyclarke.com.

SouthSide was accompanied by photographer Brian Lutz who snapped awesome photos of Gilby Clarke. Visit his site at http://www.blutzphotos.com/home/band/gilby-clarke to view them.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide