On the April evening of June 14th (the weather was more typical of March or April) I ventured to Seattle’s Funhouse to see the Dollyrots. Hailing from Tampa, Florida, the Dollyrots are fronted by husband and wife team Kelly Ogden (lead vocals & bass) and Luis Cabezas (backing vocals and lead guitar). Their music is punk with a melodic pop flavor. I definitely heard a Ramones element more than once. The pair ooze charisma.
Highlights included a punked up version of the old Melanie song “Brand New Key.” I don’t think I’ve heard that song since I was ten years old. I liked their version better.
The truly best part was when they brought their kids on stage. Their son River (about ten) told corny jokes and showed off his skills with a yo-yo. He exhibited every bit of charisma as his parents did. His yo-yo skills were amazing. He’s better than I ever got when I packed a yo-yo on a regular basis moons ago. Daughter Daisy accompanied the drummer (whom they introduced as Simon but I didn’t hear mention of a last name). Every time her brother told a joke she’d follow with a drum roll. The cute was so heavy the staff at Funhouse must have been cleaning the stage all night to removed the molten sugar.
The Dollyrots promised to return next summer so I guess I’ll have to wait until then to see them again. I do love the Dollyrots.
I arrived just as openers Hilltop Rats took the stage. Hailing from Tacoma, WA, Hilltop Rats are now a NW institution. They always put on an energetic show. These guys put out melodic hard rocking punk with a smattering of pop sounds. They not only warmed up the stage, they set it ablaze with their unbridled energy. It’s always a pleasure to see the Hilltop Rats.
Finishing the evening was a band called Diesel Boy. From Santa Rosa, CA, these guys also put on some hard rocking punk with catchy power pop melodies. They even got a good circle pit going for most of their set. I was surprised there wasn’t a smell of burnt sugar left by the cuteness of the Dollyrots. They totally reignited the inferno on that stage.
