July 23 was a day I looked forward to. The Dollyrots were headlining a show at Seattle’s Funhouse. The last and only time I saw the Dollyrots was in 2015 when they supported Bowling for Soup. I was blown away with them then and equally this time. The Dollyrots get a lot of play on Little Steven’s Underground Garage (satellite radio) so I have familiarity with many of their songs
The Dollyrots consist of Kelly Ogden on bass and lead vocals and her husband Luis Cabezas on guitar and harmonies. There was a female drummer but she was different than the drummer they toured with in 2015 and no one got back to me with her name.
Joining them on stage for a bit were the couple’s two children. River, age nine, played his dad’s guitar (which dwarfed him) and then did some fancy yo-yo tricks. His tricks were quite impressive for someone so young. Tommy Smothers, move over.
Their daughter, who appeared to be about four, helped out on drums and like her brother, was completely dwarfed behind the instrument. The kids were beyond adorable and both quite comfortable on stage. A bit later another girl joined them. She wasn’t as comfortable on stage as the other two, but with coaxing and cheers from the audience she managed to muster the courage to tell a corny joke. She was very endearing.
The Dollyrots even played my favorite song, Party in which the narrator claims she’s not good at much but she sure knows how to party. I hope I don’t have to wait another eight years to see the Dollyrots again.
Prior to the Dollyrots was a duo called Dog Party. Dog Party consisted of two women, sisters Gwendolyn and Lucy Giles. One of them churned out wicked guitar licks while the other played drums. The two of them traded off on vocals which sounded different but complemented each other. They could belt on songs, scream and growl and perform all ranges of vocal prowess. Plus they oozed charm. They were so charismatic I expected to find molten sugar cover the stage floor.
I arrived in time for Baby & the Nobodies to start their set. Baby & the Nobodies is a Seattle band fronted by Rebecca and she had pipes! She could sound sweet and succulent one minute, then turn to a guttural growl the next. The whole band, Tyler- Guitar Kenny- Bass and Dana- Drums, had great stage presence and looked like 70s rock stars with long hair that flopped over their eyes. Rebecca wore black cutoffs with black fishnets with embroidered crosses on them. She was in constant motion as were all of them. Though the Funhouse is small, they had a very enthusiastic response and many had crowded close to the stage. They are definitely a band I’ll watch out for. I was very impressed.
The Funhouse is a small and ergo intimate club but there’s no ventilation. It had to be 100 degrees inside, but it was a great night with a lot of talented musicians and singers.
