THE MOONEY SUZUKI
The Blue Note, Columbia, Missouri
Sunday, October 6th, 2002…

“The Mooney Suzuki cannot save rock and roll…because rock and roll was never lost!”

Or so claimed cocksure Mooney Suzuki frontman Sammy James Jr. Sunday night (Oct. 6th, 2002) as he and his band blasted into another song. The death of rock and roll would certainly come as an affront to the ‘Zook (as my friends and I have so affectionately dubbed them), as their sound is pure blues-driven rock, a throwback to the sounds of leather-clad garage rock revolutionaries the MC5. Their records make great driving music, but their live show is a completely different beast.

Having seen the Mooneys last spring at Shattered, I knew what I was getting into – full out, balls to the walls, riff-rippin’ rock n’ roll. But I was a little concerned about how it would translate at the somewhat larger venue of the Blue Note. Would the lead guitarist push his way into the crowd again considering the 3-foot leap from the stage? How would the drummer guy get down into the audience to make kissy-face with the ladies?

Dressed in black from head to toe, the Suzuki made their way on stage and proceeded to rock electric - Sammy and the boys ain’t never heard of no “acoustic set.” Any fears I had about the show being tamed down in the larger venue were promptly disseminated as lead guitarist Graham Tyler leaped into the crowd for a little audience interaction, swinging his axe around as audience members pushed his solo-izin’ ass around. Since the Mooneys don’t really have any ‘hits’ to speak of, I didn’t find anything wrong with their setlist. They ripped through most of the best stuff off their two albums and EPs, from the neo-mod “My Dear Persephone” to the semi-truck-barreling-at-100-mph-adrenaline punch that is “Turn My Blue Sky Black.”

Ok, ok, so their songs all start to sound the same after a while - the swirling drums and the Pete Townsend-ish riffs that kickstart each song – but the pure energy of the guys onstage just makes that fact, well, not unnoticeable, but sure as hell trivial. Myself and my friend Tyler had made for damn sure that we were right up front, leaning against the stage. We just happened to be right in front of where lead guitarist Graham Tyler was situated, and he made sure to shove his guitar in our faces more than a couple of times – not exactly the most pretty view, but, hey, it was a rock n’ roll show. The Suzuki’s big finale included a dynamic guitar duel between lead singer Sammy James and lead guitarist Graham Tyler on the top of the amps stacked to either side of the stage. The encore came and went – the Suzuki graced us with just one more song before retiring – and the crowd reluctantly wandered out of the Blue Note; they had just been fucking rocked. I didn’t leave, however, before awkwardly trying to hit up a conversation with the bass player from the Sahara Hotnights and making a damned fool of myself in the process (“Hi…uhh…you guys, I mean, gals, umm, rocked…yeah…so…you’re from Sweden?”).

So, can the Mooney Suzuki save rock and roll? I’m not one to wax philosophic about the “future of rock,” but let’s just say this – the Mooneys’ll certainly give rock the good kick in the nuts it needs these days. Or what do I know. I was the guy waving his hand in some rocker’s crotch all night.

- Joel Cusumano