’80s bands. You remember them. KISS, White Snake, Def Leopard, Prince. Most of us were too young to see their concerts live. We just watched MTV broadcast their videos when Mom was distracted. Well, it’s not too late now to see a live U.S show.
No, not U.S, the land of the free. You could, however, call them The Band of the Brave. U.S, the leather-chap wearing, hair slinging, air-guitar playing group didn’t get to play until 11 p.m. at Rick’s Caf Tuesday night. But they know how to tightly compact a lot in an hour.
Lead vocalist Kelly Nagy, drummer Richie Wright, lead guitarist Jeff Manns and bassist Chase Lexi take a crowd back to the “fun” decade with the one-hit wonder, “Run Away” and AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
“The ’80s were just fun,” says Nagy after the show. His teased curly hair certainly plays the part, similar to Gene Simmons, but red. After chugging two bottled waters he discarded his leather vest and put on a T-shirt. “The ladies love these songs.”
And isn’t that a plus for playing rock ‘n’ roll? U.S sure enjoys attention from the ladies.
Nagy is right about women loving the ’80s, but they seem to love Manns more. Manns, with the face and hair of Michael Bolton, plays most of the show with no shirt, revealing a rather toned abdomen. He probably does a couple hundred incline situps daily. Girls dance in a semicircle in front of him as he pans his head diagonally, throwing his hair round and about, playing a wireless electric guitar. They scream the loudest when he plays a solo. After the show he naturally is the only one loading up all of the sound equipment, while five college girls wait to tell him how great he was.
“When I’m up on stage, I think ‘Wow, look at all those chicks!'” Lexi confesses. His long, dyed black hair is now mangled from an intense hour of head-banging and neck swinging.
Nagy says as he hand brushes his curls back, “I just always worry that there’s a booger hanging out of my nose. Our appearance is very important.”
Nagy laughs when he says that the Trojan Condom Co. sponsors the band. “We can’t get a record deal, but we sure can get a condom deal.” He says, making sure to note that the company had supported them well.
Wright, who is also a hockey player from Toronto, said he started playing the drums because of the women. “I got serious about it later, as I started to see that I could actually be good at it.”
Well, his starting plan worked, because he picked up a wife out of the deal. Wright was introduced to a young Phi Mu Starkvillian, while she was on a date at one of his shows. She is now the mother of his 4-week-old son. “He sleeps during the day, instead of the night. I’m a little tired right now.”
Wright also has his own studio, The Wright Mix, where he recorded for the Persians. He’ll soon release a solo album of his own.
Each of these guys looked like a different representation of the ’80s music scene.
Lexi, with his black leather pants and pale skin, stood for glam rock. A musical bar of a Kiss measurement was tattooed around his bicep and down to his elbow.
Nagy stood for Gene Simmons with his curls and chaps over jeans.
Manns stood for the teen idol, and Wright for the clean-cut Rick Springfield. With all four playing some of the first songs we ever listened to, you’ll feel like it is a flashback, except you’ll have the satisfaction of watching these four play the part.