Well, 2020 sucked and 2021 hasn’t been all that much better, but I believe we have turned a corner.  On Wednesday, July 14, 2021, I went to the Tally Ho Theater in Leesburg, VA and saw one of my all-time favorite bands, Enuff Z’Nuff, opening for another favorite, Faster Pussycat.  It was dubbed the Straight Outta Quarantine Tour and it had already been postponed twice.  I couldn’t wait to get my fully-vaccinated self into a small sweaty rock n roll club again.  It was cathartic.

My beautiful wife and I started the evening by checking into a nearby hotel and cracking open a bottle of champagne to celebrate the return of our addiction to live music with loud guitars. After that, it was an Uber to dinner out and then a short walk to the club. There was a lighter than usual crowd so we could easily get up close without being shoulder to shoulder with anyone. Enuff Z’Nuff were first and they played a good set that covered the span of there long, 23-record career (that number must include live releases and greatest hits, but that’s how many they said they have at this point). In addition to the hits like “Fly High Michelle” and “New Thing,” highlights for me included “Baby Loves You” from the excellent Strength record and also “Metalheart” from the relatively recent Diamond Boy release. The band sounded good with Chip Z’Nuff fronting a group of young guns as the only remaining original member. The set was excellent, although the setlist could have been much better in my opinion. And because the first show my wife and I ever saw together was Enuff Z’Nuff at The Bayou in Georgetown (D.C.) in 1990, it was pretty cool to see them again on this occasion, over 31 years later.

JCE and Chip Z’Nuff right after their set.

Next up were Faster Pussycat. My wife and I saw them a couple of years ago at this same venue, and while I thought they were good, I did not think they were capturing the magic of the 1980’s—in other words, at that show they seemed a little old and tired. Not so for this show. The setlist was way better, the energy was there, and they sounded crisp. Faster Pussycat has two new songs out. One is an original called “NOLA,” which stands for New Orleans, Louisiana. It is an outstanding return to recorded output and rivals a lot of their old stuff. The other new one is a cover of Johnny Thunders’ “Pirate Love.” They played those two back-to-back, mid-set. “Cathouse” and “Babylon” are two of the more well known rockers, and both were in the set. Others in that vein were “Bathroom Wall,” “Don’t Change that Song” and “Slip of the Tongue,” all of which were great. Of course, we got the big hit ballad, “House of Pain.” The biggest and most pleasant surprise was the inclusion of “Nonstop to Nowhere.” That song is the best tune from their third record which was highly underrated and the song is one of my favorites. Another pleasant surprise was the fact that they did not include their cover of “You’re So Vain” by Carly Simon which is popular, but I just don’t like it much at all. If there was any disappointment, I wish they had played “Poison Ivy” but they did not. We also got the industrial sound of “Number One with a Bullet” and we got a great cover of The Supersuckers’ “Pretty F*cked Up.”

Bottom line, this was a great show.  I’ll admit I was so happy to be back at a show like this that I am sure I would have loved it no matter what, but I’ve seen shows at which older bands are out on the road for some quick cash which fans happily hand over for a dose of nostalgia.  This was not remotely the case.  Both bands killed it.  What more can I say?  I just want more now.