Formed on Long Island in 1979, Stray Cats were a bit of an enigma: Punk-era kids emulating mid-’50s Rockabilly, the music made famous by Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins. When disco was in full swing and stadium rock was the thing, the trio of Brian Setzer on lead guitar and vocals, “Slim Jim” Phantom on the skins, and Lee Rocker rocking a standup bass, were throwing back to a much different time in our modern history.
The band really broke open after a move to England, where the Punk scene was more accepting of such a unique Rockabilly/Punk hybrid. Repackaging themselves and finding a record label, the Cats came back to the U.S. in the early ’80s with hits such as “Rock This Town,” and “(She’s) Sexy and 17.”
After a few successful albums and heavy rotation on MTV for several years, Setzer grew bored and disbanded the outfit. Over the years the trio has gotten together again to record some new music, re-release the old hits, and tour on occasion. Setzer has said that he regretted breaking up the band at the height of their fame, even though they all went on to successful side projects since the band’s dissolution.
Wednesday night saw the Stray Cats’ return to Northeast Ohio from a show that was rescheduled from last year due to a debilitating illness from which Setzer had been suffering.
Whatever neurological issues that sidelined the lead guitarist last year must be cured, as he and his bandmates were in fine form for the Northfield Park Racino show. Attendees were dressed in their finest Teddy Boy duds, anticipating the first time that the full band has played Northeast Ohio. In the trio’s heyday they played Blossom once; the Cleveland area wasn’t a stop they made on any tour of theirs, despite the 216’s popularity during the 170s and ’80s.
What’s not to like about a Stray Cats concert? Their music is non-political, and any sexual innuendo is squarely set in the innocence of the McCarthy-era lyrics. Each tune is a toe-tapper of the sing-along variety, awash in a gentle sea of nostalgia. Which here is double: a late-1970s-era trio harking back to the early days of Rock-n-Roll.
The only drawback, sadly, was the length of the show: it barely rang in at ninety minutes and, whether that’s due to the shorter nature of older rock tunes, the crowd was clearly clamoring for more.
The band offered a twenty-two song set, giving the audience everything they could ask for, including an early-set “Runaway Boys,” a mid-set “Stray Cat Strut,” and of course, “Rock This Town” towards the end of the night. Noticeably absent, and for cause, was one of their biggest hits, “(She’s) Sexy and 17,” which doesn’t play too well in a post-Epstein world.
They closed the night out with a mashup of Rockabilly classics “Jailhouse Rock” and “Hound Dog,” and then wrapped it up with “Built For Speed,” which as Setzer and company are approaching their late 60s, is an apt metaphor for this still-going-hard group of musicians.
