Unfortunately, I had to cut short an excellent show by bluesman Jim Byrnes to catch a sold out show with the Zolas and the Dudes, April 9 at Bo Diddly’s.
The Vancouver based power pop band’s show was a marked contrast to the thriving mosh pit in front of the stage at the Real McKenzies show the last time I saw a show there.
This time instead of moshers, the dance floor was full of young women standing in front of the stage, enraptured by Zolas frontman/ guitarist Zachary Gray and the sweet, pop inspired indie rock he sang. While their set wasn’t as “experimental” as I thought it would be based on last week’s interview with Gray, it was an entertaining set of guitar powered pop music which had much of the audience singing along with lines like “you’re like a ghost to me.”
The title track of their new CD “Ancient Mars” was s a highlight early in the set.
Calgary rock band the Dudes were who everybody was waiting for though. They were greeted by a chorus of rousing cheers from the audience and blasted into a rock solid set of power pop and rock, very much inspired by ’70s bands like Cheap Trick and even began their show with what sounded like a few bars of Dream Police.
Hirsute and glasses wearing frontman Dan Vacon leaped all over the stage, trading guitar licks with the lead guitarist.
They put on an energetic and very enjoyable show of rock and roll, with lots of guitar, catchy melodies and boundless energy.
