Despite some rough weather, this turned out to be a blessed night to be seeing a show in the historic Fountain Square district. Club Radio Radio has been open for a year or two now and it's kind of crazy that I'm only now getting to check out a joint named for an Elvis Costello song.  

Besides that coolness, it's just a really nice, smallish, intimate facility.  It's all clean, still seems new, and has an actual bar that’s decent. This is definitely a preferred venue to see a band, particularly an intimate acoustic act like the Asylum Street Spankers.

Heck, they even came up with a really good local opening act.  These Born Again Floozies are some kind of crazy freak show; only they’re a very musically skilled freak show, like Spike Jones or the Asylum Street Spankers.  In theory, I would almost compare them to the Spankers, except that they don't use any of the same instruments.

The Floozies’ basic sound is one electric guitar and a tuba player plus a tap dancer, natch.  I note that Miss Amy Gilmore has her own little maybe 4x4 metal tap stage, which is specifically miked.  She ended up being a surprisingly musical and effective percussionist, right along with a few assorted minor rhythmic instruments. 

She also had a fairly simple but highly effective deadpan stage presence; not particularly hamming it up, but cheerful and poker faced.  There's a second tap dancer, name of Libby Milliken, only she just gave birth to a little floozie within the last few days so they had to get by without her.

Anyway, Joe Welch in the center of this mess plays some fairly fancy guitar that's a little tough to describe, but unique and highly expressive. Ben Volkits blows some mean tuba that makes me not miss a bass player one bit. They can credibly cover Sly Stone.

There's a pretty high humor quotient to the act, as you might imagine.  Just on the basis of the title, you have to appreciate the tale of the "Small Penis Compensation Vehicle."  I was more taken, though, by the curious ruminations about a cemetery with a marquee sign — and what kind of person would have such a job as writing the quotes.  Best I can tell, the title was "If You Were Dead, You'd Be Home Now."  

They do a mean version of "Highway to Hell," though their studio recording is apparently being dicked around a bit by some AC/DC lawyer types.  As it happens, it was only halfway through their set that the Spankers showed up at the back door.  Rough weather, but we'll get back to that. 

Anyway, Wammo himself comes walking in the back door during this performance and has to stop for a moment to listen appreciatively to this unique and surprisingly effective arrangement.

I end up writing about the humor stuff because it's words and easy to communicate.  But the better parts of the show were instrumental pieces.  You just have to sit and listen to Joe and Ben work out that jam.  This has to be about the best opening act I ever saw, other than maybe absolutely Brian Wilson opening for Paul Simon.  I need more Floozies in my life.