Lee Rocker & The Incredible Diamonds

It was a cold night. My date for the evening cancelled at the last minute. She said something about "re-lacing all of her tennis shoes." So, I went to see The Incredible Diamonds open for Lee Rocker at LaSalle's by myself. I must say, there's something strangely appropriate about drinking alone while rockabilly music plays in the background. It's almost poetic. We seem to be veering off track, though. I mention these things for the sole purpose of indicating what kind of emotional baggage I was lugging around with me at the time, for it is my conviction that one's first impression of music, or any art for that matter, is necessarily influenced by various outside factors such as losing your job, failing a midterm or fighting with a loved one. With this in mind, let us get on with what really matters. That is, the music.
The Incredible Diamonds may very well be the best local band you never heard of. The quartet's sound can be described as a cross between rock and country, with a little blues thrown in for good measure. Their set list was a healthy mix of covers and original music. My favorite was "Everybody Knows That Satan Rocks." The crowd, which seemed to have at least one delegate from each age group, were into it. The excitement would reach a crescendo whenever frontman Matt Hogan hopped up on the bar in the middle of a song to take a shot. I don't think anybody was happy to see The Incredible Diamonds walk off stage. At the same time, I didn't hear anybody complain. After all, Lee Rocker was coming up next.
For better or for worse, Lee Rocker will always be associated with The Stray Cats, the frontman's former group, in the same way Mick Jagger is with The Stones. Whatever. You want to know about the music. They had the dance floor packed with their swing-tinged rockabilly tunes till damn near closing time. The leather-clad Lee Rocker shown on the stand-up bass. What was really cool, though, was that each member was given his own moment in the sun, so to speak. A killer drum solo in the last song of the evening comes to mind. The multi-textual vocals worked well with a group of songs that mingled vintage Lee Rocker with covers by classic artists such as Buddy Holly.
My first show at LaSalle's went over well. Rockabilly has never been my cup of tea, but sometimes you just can't deny a good live performance. At one point in the evening, Matt Hogan said something along these lines: "If you don't like country music, you probably don't know how to kick a dog." That could be. I really don't know. I do know that if you don't like country, you probably weren't at LaSalle's when the Incredible Diamonds opened for Lee Rocker and that, my friends, is your loss.
- Ryan Mungia

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