Goo Goo Dolls John Rzeznik sits in with Monkey Wrench at Electric Avenue
Well, I’m kicking myself.
I thought I’d take the weekend off, concentrate on my own music, do some work around the house, avoid a Sunday hangover, and maybe stave off the existential dreads that seem to arrive with the coming work week, based on the nagging feeling of not having gotten anything useful done.
I should’ve known better.
Rust never sleeps. And neither does must-see live music in Buffalo.
On Saturday, October 28, a Halloween Covers Show took place at Electric Avenue, next door to Mohawk Place on East Mohawk Street in downtown Buffalo. The seasonal spooky throw-down was designed to celebrate the music of the Cranberries, the Adventures of Pete & Pete, Galaxie 500, Green Day, Violent Femmes and a band that’s been one of my favorites since age 12 - Cheap Trick.
Though it wasn’t advertised as such, the show featured members of legendary Buffalo punk-indie outfit Monkey Wrench - our region’s own Husker Du, really, and a band capable of simultaneously kicking you in the face and delivering an indelible melody, something I experienced firsthand many a time at clubs like Broadway Joe’s and the Continental during the early 90s.
Monkey Wrench handled the Cheap Trick portion of the show, which strikes me as wholly appropriate, since the band always boasted a touch of the violent melodicism that makes CT’s 1977 debut album a timeless masterpiece.
During that set, fans in the full house were given something truly special in their trick-or-treat bags - an ultra-rare hometown sit-in from Goo Goo Dolls vocalist/guitarist John Rzeznik. John joined the band for a raucous run-through of “Surrender.” Friends in attendance described the experience as “awesome,” “sick” and “killer.” Which really just made me feel worse.
The moral of the story? If you live in Buffalo, and you love to rock, you should never stay home on a Saturday night.
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