Velvet Voodoo Dolls

with Sugar Plum Dandy, Home, Skunkjuice, The Mighty Sturgeon, Camerons Way, Drawback, Slowpoke, Lachrymator, Doom Nation at The Vertex
by Scott Hefflon
photo by Trevor Whitaker

Again, huh? These guys are batting three for three now. They just always seem to be in the right place at the right time. They put on another great show, with the best light show of the evening, courtesy of Jeanie. Singer Joe Alberto’s arm is out of the cast and now allows him the mobility to retain his title as one of the most dynamic frontsmen in the area. Whether it’s shakin’ it up or stomping around, or even sitting on a monitor and getting personal, the man’s intensity is captivating and transfixing.

The band roared through their set, playing all six songs from their release, Love Circle, as well as other songs including (I think) a cover. Their style is rootsy soul, a level or twelve deeper than the current rehashing on the charts, and I’m afraid I’m not too familiar with the genre (my loss). The closest comparison (for those of you requiring cross-references to formulate an opinion) is a very heavy Commitments. Without the horns and keys, two less babes, and a singer that is as passionate, yet not as troll-like, as Decker. They’ve got that same groove and momentum, just heavier and more rockin’.