Live Review: The BellRays, Dallas Frasca

Dallas Frasca and her band bear down on Ding Dong Lounge with a short set of tightly wound hard rock. Pounding beats and throbbing guitar riffs provide the perfect accompaniment for Frasca's big, brassy vocals. Frasca has drawn out hometown fans who happily sing along with every song they play. Not content with blasting the crowd with everything they have, it's with a toss of her trademark synthetic red hair that she gets down with the audience on the floor without missing a note. Getting intimate everyone sits on the floor as she hosts a tea party during a slower number before whipping us all into frenzy. As things get a little wilder and out of control, Frasca quite amazingly channels her inner Janis Joplin and deals some pretty wild archetypally rock'n'roll screams that have the crowd begging for more.

The temperature in the room is running hot and the crowd is primed for The BellRays' 'rockpocalypse'. The BellRays pick up where Dallas Frasca left off, delivering a generous and lengthy set of high-voltage rock'n'roll that takes us well into the early parts of the morning. Playing at maximum volume, The BellRays deal a wild blast of surf-punk and garage that shifts from a thick, grinding sludge of noise to riffs that have everyone in the room bouncing. They play at a furious pace if only to keep up with their fiery frontwoman, the inimitable Lisa Kekaula. At this stage of the game it's no secret that Kekaula is a red-hot mama who totally belts out her vocals with loud and clear rock attitude, but she also comes with subtle soul and bluesy inflection. The effect is a little like watching a way-back-in-the-day Tina Turner fronting a Detroit garage band.  

It's Saturday night and Kekaula isn't too interested in hearing people talking through the set. She wants to see them all living the moment and getting down. Right from On Top all the way through the monstrous grind of Blues For Godzilla, The BellRays deliver a blinding good time. Everybody Get Up drops and it's about the best time you can possibly have on a Saturday night. They back this up with a cover of Whole Lotta Love that sees sparks flying to ignite complete mayhem. A high-octane version of Voodoo Train just burns the place up. An exhilarating evening of riotous rock'n'roll.