SEX SLAVES, The Erotics And The BLiSTeRZ Invade Albany [REVIEW][PHOTOS]

"An old school, out of control, no holds barred rock ‘n’ roll show you will be reading about on Monday and wish you had attended!" Those were the words spoken by The BLiSTeRz front man Dave Graham when asked about the event. Well, it's Monday and you're reading about the insane show that went on Friday, March 2 at Savannah's Dublin Underground. SEX SLAVES, The Erotics and The BLiSTeRz rocked Albany until the wee hours of the morning.

While most of you were over at the Palace Theatre in your stuffy little assigned seats at the Jane's Addiction show, the rest of us were at Savannah's rocking out, banging our heads and rising a muck upon each other as three local, amazing rock trios put on an incredible show.

The night started out with The BLiSTeRz, who, despite their "dad" statuses, can transform into rock stars and make the stage come alive in a matter of minutes. Unlike most bands, these regular Joe's use performing as a weekend hobby, rather than a lifetime commitment. During the week they go to work, they get coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, eat lunch out of a brown paper bag and then go home to their families at night. When the weekend hits, however, they let their guard down and play shows around the area. They get the best of both worlds: seeing and spending time with those they love (a thing not many bands get to do too often) as well as having the "rock star lifestyle" a few days out of the month. To me, that's the ideal life and "American Dream," and these guys are living it.

The BLiSTeRz music is all about fun- quirky, comical, literal lyrics paired with simple-but-clean chords and melodies, which is easily heard in their new album, REBELS WITHOUT APPLAUSE. For a band whose Facebook page says "You are kidding...right!?" under record label, I'd say these guys are doing pretty well for being just a "weekend band."

Their set list was as follows:

The BLiSTeRz were very personable and interactive on stage. They frequently told little stories and said hello to their friends in the audience, and even thanked Q103 and myself for the show's coverage and success. Dave, who donned his Q shirt in support, also made it a point to say that the DJ in "The DJ Let Us Down Again" was NOT from Q103! Backstage the guys are just as cool and appreciative as on stage, which made me like them that much more. I look forward to meeting and seeing them again soon!

Mike Trash-fronted trio The Erotics were next on the bill, and wow, did they have a lot of friends and support present. They embraced the fun musical spirit that was left on stage and enhanced it even more. Their music was a bit darker and harder, but still had that comical feel, and they reminded me of old school Alice Cooper, which of course was right up my alley. They were more along the lines of "what you see is what you get," which worked very well for them. They are a no bullshit, no drama, no worry kind of band, which enables them to simply just play from the heart. If you like them, that's cool, but if not, then hey that's cool too.

 The band were also celebrating the release of their newest album, Boulevard of Choking Screams, which proves that they are having fun with their chosen paths in life, as it is a parody play on Green Day's mega-popular hit album Boulevard of Broken Dreams. The Erotics basically put that record to shame, as they filter out the unneeded "junk" of Green Day's album and altogether finesse and have produced a much better, meaningful and completely music, not money-driven record. The band wouldn't care if it only sold ten copies, as long as those who bought it enjoyed it and got something out of it. This mind set and band momentum is rare, and a trait that I wish many other bands had, but then again, it would be less inspiring if everyone practiced it.

The Erotics set list was as follows:

The Erotics played a good mix of songs from all seven of their records, and judging by their song names one can tell what their style, array and preference of song category and lyrics are. They take morbid topics like death, drugs, rape and the devil and put their own, semi-satirical, semi-funny spin on it, while still keeping the overall spirit of the song in check. I think if the Coop-man heard and saw these guys live, he would love them and would be brought back to his early days, and maybe, just maybe choose them to open up for him on a future tour.

After a brief intermission, headliners and New York City trio SEX SLAVES took the stage and ran with it until almost 2 am, leaving everyone in the place drunk, horny and speechless. I think a more suitable name for these amazing guys would be SEX ADDICTS, as much of their music in some way incorporates sex. In fact, I think every night they metaphorically fornicate with their fans and crowd, making them musical whores, which is just awesome and makes them addicting as well.

Del Cheetah, Eric 13 and J Bomb are so incredibly full of energy, talent and pure fun, and they easily evoke that onto their audience. Not only are they super nice, down-to-earth guys who are thankful for everything and so willing to meet and interact with their fans, they also dominate on stage and basically leave you mind f***** to the point of no return. They definitely leave you wanting more, in so many words.

Their set list was as follows:

I see only bigger and better things coming for SEX SLAVES, and I truly wish them the best, as long as they don't forget their family here in Albany, and come back often and with a vengeance. Thanks for the life-changing mind f*** guys!

Now that you read about it, don't you wish you had been there?