01.11.07 Horseshoe Tavern Concert Review
It's Not The Band I Hate, It's Their Fans

Prior to Parker was a performance by local rocker chick Basia Lyjak. I don't listen to flat out rock 'n roll all that much these days, but in my teens I went through a faze where if it didn't rock, I wasn't interested. Before she hit the stage, the speakers were blasting 80's hair metal classics from the likes of Van Halen, Def Leppard and The Scorpions. Here's a bit of a credibility crush for you (as if I haven't done enough of that already,) but there's a small part of my brain that still smiles whenever Joe Elliott belts out "Oh baby I'm not fa-fa-fa-foolin'! Oh fa-fa-foolahen!" Thankfully I'm still of the belief that only two or three people regularly read this blog, so my secret is safe right? Right?

Anyways, that music was a perfect setup for what Basia was about to belt out, because she was definitely here to rock it old school, and that's exactly what she did. Her supporters were there in full force, as I looked around and saw several people singing along and rocking out to her songs as if they had a share in the writing process themselves. She performed several cuts from her latest EP entitled "Writings On The Wall", as well as some freshly written songs and a couple of covers. Her original material can best be described as classic chick-rock in the vein of Pat Benatar meets Veruca Salt. In fact, her set ended with a cover of the former's "Heartbreaker," which gives you an idea of what she is all about. She is an incredibly enthusiastic performer who clearly loves what she does, and knows that first and foremost the goal is to rock 'n roll the audience as much as is humanly possible. And that she did.

This weekend we return you to our regularly scheduled musings of indie rock snobbery.