But don't think that John, Paul, George and Ringo (or their Vegas counterparts) put on a show last night. Locksley draw from identifiable influences, but they aren't a rip-off band, bringing equal parts of rock 'n' roll badass and Midwest nice in sexy Jarvis Cocker-style shoes.
Their Brit-style dance-pop was unstoppable. Not only was the crowd rocked by youth-fueled power pop, they were doubly revved up by an audience participation set that included a crowd member with serious harmonica chops. Vocalist Jesse Laz sang his heart out, while strangers strummed guitar, hit the tambourine and filled the stage. His voice has that early morning gruffness warmed by the sultry thoughts of last night.
The doo-wop backing vocals collided with Kai Kennedy's electric funk guitar solos, which crackled with feedback from the sweat and broken strings he ripped against his axe. And the repeated triplets of chanted lyrics and stompy beats from Sam Bair poured on the punk style.
The vocal harmonies need some maintenance to withstand the toll the front of the set takes. And bassist Aaron Collins needs to grow some confidence and return that "Hey!!! I'm in a band!!! Cool!!!" shirt for the "I'm in a band and I'm cool deal with it" one.
Remnants of The Waking Eyes, Arctic Monkeys, Pearl Jam, The Stills, The Coral, Franz Ferdinand, and The Small Faces echoed mildly on a variety of songs, but whereas all of these bands usually take a break to get sentimental, Locksley keeps on trucking through.
The memorable "She Does," "Let Me Know" and "Darling It's Time" should cause personal dance breaks throughout Madison today.
