The Chesterfield Kings
Lodge Room
March 20, 2024
Review by DAN MACINTOSH
HIGHLAND PARK, CA – Stevie Van Zandt, AKA Little Steven, has taken some of his favorite Underground Garage radio acts on the road, with the stop in Southern California highlighted by a rare appearance from The Chesterfield Kings. These rockin’ performers record for Van Zandt’s retro-hip label, Wicked Cool Records.
The Chesterfield Kings’ dates marked the East Coast’s band’s first shows in 15 years, which made this tour date a special event. These “Beatle Boot”-sporting rockers made the best of the opportunity, hammering out a good, loud set of Rock N Roll bangers. The Chesterfield Kings, previously introduced by Underground Garage radio show curator and E Street Band member Little Steven as “The second-best Rock N Roll band in the world,” are Andy Babiuk, Mike Boise, Jeff Okolowicz, Ted Okolowicz and John Cammarosano.
Although the group worked in some jangling Rickenbacker guitar tunes, this five-piece’s music mostly leaned toward the garage-rock end of the sonic spectrum. In addition to The Chesterfield Kings’ original songs, which included the high-energy “Up and Down,” the band played a few songs from other famous artists. The group gave a taste of The Ramones with Dee Dee Ramone’s “Baby Doll,” which he wrote about his wife, and they also included a pre-ZZ Top Billy Gibbons song, “99thFloor.”
Half of the fun of this show was watching people dance.The audience may have been on the older side, but that didn’t stop many of them from dancing wildly, like teenagers. You can’t blame them, either, because the music was just so pounding-ly rhythmic. People just assume only styles like R&B are danceable, but ‘60s-inspired rock is equally dancefloor ready –sometimes even moreso. Tonight we had living proof.
Little Steven, when he’s not acting or playing and singing in Bruce Springsteen’s band, has a keen ear for good Rock N Roll. He proved tonight with this showcase that there are many people still out there looking for songs with good beats to which they can dance. The Chesterfield Kings brought great music, and the crowd just took it from there.
Check out The Chesterfield Kings and more at Underground Garage.
Listen to the music of The Chesterfield Kings here:
