Kevin K at the Dive Bar, Las Vegas, June 23, 2007

Kevin K at the Dive Bar, Las Vegas, June 23, 2007

It takes a lot to get me out of the house these days, even on a weekend, but when good friends and rhythm section par excellence Roy Morgan and Dino Everett (drums and bass respectively, formerly working together with the Excessories, Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, Donovan’s Fairies and lord knows who else) came to town with the Kevin K Band, it was a must-see!

Opening the show was a mid-west psychobilly band, Brutally Frank, whose high-energy definitely pumped up the punk-y crowd and made us wonder how the audience would accept the more Johnny Thunders/Stiv Bator-ish Kevin K.

It did take a couple of tunes to warm up the crowd, but between Kevin’s songs (like "Going Nowhere Fast" and "Jennifer Love Song") and the kick-ass band (lead guitarist Jimmy was wild on both guitar and backup vocals), along with Dino’s penchant for leaping about with the audience, the people were on their feet and cheering them on.

I wasn’t that familiar with Kevin’s material before the show, but the songs are catchy, Kevin and Jimmy throw in the occasional harmony leads, there are sing-along portions and even a couple of cool covers, including their rollickin’ version of “These Boots Are Made For Walking” that had everyone joining in.

Kevin tours the world over and uses different bands at times, but this West-coast line-up rocks’n’rolls with the best of ‘em – see ‘em is you get a chance!