For the first time in twenty-six years, the iconic New York rockabilly band Stray Cats reunited to produce a new album in Nashville.  To mark the momentous event, they booked a 40th Anniversary Tour.  Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia, was one of their stops, and Honeysuckle Roads had to be there!

The Stray Cats include guitarist and frontman Brian Setzer, drummer Slim Jim Phantom, and upright bass player Lee Rocker.  They put on a riotous show with such energy I had to pinch myself to believe they were not their 1980s selves transported via hot rod to the present.  Enjoy the following pictures and videos to prove it!

 

All 3 Stray Cats I.jpg

 

 

Brian Setzer Shoots he Scores Triumphant Jump.jpg

 

 

Slim Jim Phantom.jpg

 

 

Brian Setzer 2 Blue Shirt Still.jpg

 

 

Brian Setzer Duck Walk.jpg

In addition to the images, I included two videos.  While the videos may not show as clearly as the photographs due to lighting, the band sounds great. You can also sense their energy as they jump up and down from instruments with abandon. I especially enjoyed the performance of “Fishnet Stockings,” which includes a three-chord riff very similar to Link Wray’s “Rumble” heard as Brian Setzer mounts Lee Rocker’s bass in a glorious burst of rock’n’roll:

And of course, how could I not include the 1981 (U.K.) 1982 (U.S.) hit “Rock This Town?”

 

…The town of Vienna was certainly rocked.

-Emily Morris