DAN'S PAPERS, May 23, 2008 Page 136 www.danshamptons.com
Entertainment In The Hamptons Backbeat: Preview to East End Music Scene By Tiffany Razzano For East Enders craving live music and anticipating the day when there are a wide variety of bands and genres to choose from, Memorial Day weekend is finally here. The weekend marks the start of the summer season, when bands can be heard blaring from the doors of a number of venues on any given night. The holiday weekend also sets the stage for what locals, tourists and second-home owners can expect for their aural fixes this summer. This year, if you just want to go out and hear some old favorites, you’re probably better off checking out some cover acts and tribute bands. The Amish Outlaws (amishoutlaws.com), “straight outta Lancaster,” according to the website, is a unique act set to perform at the Beach Bar in Hampton Bays on May 25. Playing up to their name, with three members having actually defected from the Amish lifestyle, these guys cover everything from Guns N’ Roses to the Insane Clown Posse, adding a bizarre flair to whatever they perform. Talk of the Town (talkofthetownband.com), a Pretenders/Cars tribute band (I know, it’s an odd combination), will be performing at the Artful Dodger in Westhampton Beach. Lead vocals alter-
The Amish Outlaws nate between male and female, with bassist Billy Reutlinger channeling Ric Ocasek on the Cars’ songs, and Mary Beth Cronin doing her best Chrissy Hynde on the Pretenders’ numbers (Cronin pulls off Hynde pretty well, but I’d be interested in hearing her try a few Patti Smith tunes). They’ll be coming back to the Artful Dodger a few weeks later on June 7, a day after hitting up Sunwater’s Grill Restaurant in
Hampton Bays. Or you might want to catch Lez Zeppelin (lezzeppelin.com), and yes, the band’s name says it all – but if I really need to spell it out for you, it’s an all-female Led Zeppelin cover band. They’ll be at Stephen Talkhouse on May 25. Of course, the Talkhouse is an even better place for original music, and their coming Memorial Day weekend schedule is full of it. Friday night you can first check out the ska sounds of Britain’s Dave Wakeling and the English Beat (davewakeling.com), which came into its own when it sped up its reggae-infused rock in the ’80s, alongside another well-known British ska group, The Specials. That same night, you can check out the R&Binfused disco rock of New York City’s Booga Sugar (boogasugar.com), who will be in Amagansett again May 30, and the weekend also features such acts as singer-songwriter Martin Sexton (martinsexton.com), the very well-known East End Americana/roots rock act (akin to Lucinda Williams) Nancy Atlas (nancyatlas.com) and Brooklyn reggae/dub artist Winston Irie (myspace.com/winstoniriereval1). A great place to check out some local rock acts (continued on next page)
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