A band is its own competition. Of all the speed bumps and land mines a band encounters on the road to ruin, the ones inside the camp are the most lethal. "Hang up the phone and get out. The call is coming from inside the house." So with that in mind, I stood there watching Red Hot Mess make a red hot mess on the Bug Jar stage Tuesday, February 10. Though this band is fronted by The UV Rays' Kevin Wilcox, we were not seeing The UV Rays. This is what Wilcox referred to as "the next logical step." I will say this, via the sometimes lazy and hackneyed music critic parlance where bands are used in sweeping comparisons, or as out-and-out verbs: Red Hot Mess sounds like a rock band hijacked by The UV Rays. Or perhaps by pirates.

Once the smoke cleared, the young punks in The Kujats followed, celebrating the release of a new CD. The band was relatively static on stage, holding on tight as it blasted fairly tight and fast. The band was loud, but these kids are alright with me. Hell, they pulled off "Pretty Vacant."

Friday night was a solid soul-sender with the 70's Soul Jam's four punch of The Manhattans ("Kiss And Say Goodbye"), The Delfonics ("La La La Means I Love You"), The Chi-ites ("Oh Girl," "Have You Seen Her"), and The Stylistics ("You Make Me Feel Brand New"). Man, the hits just kept comin.' Now, I've seen a number of these retro revues before, and they can be a little weak; most original members are absent and the new blood slicks the arrangements up so much that the soul that once flowed so sweet is stifled. But not this time, Jack. These four singing groups sounded fantastic, and though not everyone was original, the music was handled with appropriate reverence. And let's talk about the outfits at the show. I saw cats in what can only be described as an updated, tapered version of the zoot suit. They made the scene in pale pink, hot pink, cherry red...and I'm talking about the audience here.

Sunday afternoon I got to hear the Baroque organ at The MAG go for - I'm not gonna say it. It was a 20-minute tour of the enormous instrument's subtlety and might, and was almost as loud as the screaming baby behind me.