The Sonics, The Texas Theater, Dallas, Texas, Saturday, June 13th, 2015, Review

History: The Sonics formed in 1960 in Tacoma, Washington and recorded their first single (“The Witch”) in 1964. Contemporaries of the Kingsmen, these prototypical garage rockers recorded three albums in the 1960s, never scored a hit record, and the original unit disbanded circa 1968. Later generations discovered their raging rock ‘n’ roll sound (there are three songs by the Sonics on the highly regarded 1998 Nuggets garage rock box set) and a reconstituted version of the group, with three original members, has been performing since 2007.

Sound and Influence: The Sonics are primal rock ‘n’ roll band that pair the explosive excitement of 50s rock (think Little Richard and Elvis) with the raw guitar sounds of the British invasion (think the early singles by The Kinks). In subject matter, with material like “Psycho,” “Strychnine,” and “The Witch,” the band had the type of themes that would later be associated with heavy metal music. It could be easily argued that the band served as a bridge to punk rock and grunge music.

The Show: Indescribably phenomenal. Perhaps, the best pure rock ‘n’ roll experience I have ever witnessed in my life. In 2015, The Sonics may look like a group of insurance agents that should have already collected their gold watches, but they rock with an intensity that few bands could ever match. Drummer Dusty Watson (who has worked with Lita Ford, Concrete Blonde, Dick Dale, the Supersuckers, and many others) played with an extraordinary combination of aggressiveness and clarity. Bassist Freddie Dennis took the lead vocals on many of the ravers while Rob Lind provided highly charged instrumental breaks on both saxophone and harmonica. Guitarist Larry Parypa provided both elemental rock riffs and that wonderful caveman, pre-psychedelic rock guitar tone. Gerry Rosalie pumped the piano in the spirit of Little Richard and provided vocals on most of the “hits.” While the show heavily pushed the band’s 2015 release This is the Sonics, there was no drop off in intensity or quality when the new material was performed.

The band performed 19 songs over the span of an hour and ten minutes. Nothing sounded retro or cute or contrived. It was a full bore, old school rock ‘n’ roll onslaught the entire evening. The band’s energy never flagged, the crowd’s appreciation never waned. The pairing of first generation rock ‘n’ roll with the sounds of the British Invasion was a reminder of how revolutionary both genres of music were in a way that forever changed popular culture.

The Sonics came to Texas and performed a devastating brilliant distillation of what the essence of rock ‘n’ roll should be. I was honored to field their shrapnel.

Grade – A+

Setlist:

Cinderella

Shot Down

He’s Waitin’

Sugarlee

Have Love, Will Travel

You’ve Got Your Head on Backwards

Boss Hoss

Keep A-Knockin’

Bad Betty

666

Dirty Robber

Money (That’s What I Want)

Leaving Here

The Hard Way (Kinks Cover)

Louie Louie

Psycho

Encore:

I Don’t Need No Doctor

Strychnine

The Witch