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THE GENTLEMEN WIN THE RUMBLE
IS THERE AN AEROSMITH TICKET IN THE HOUSE?


It would not be too big a stretch from the coming-of-age cult-classic film Dazed and Confused to the final of this year’s retro-tinged Rock and Roll Rumble a week ago Thursday at the Middle East. You had Quitter, the mostly long-haired stoner types hanging around the Emporium. You had Mr. Airplane Man, two liberated blues-punk chicks doing it for themselves. And you had the Gentlemen, the seemingly "good kids" whose priority for the summer was scoring Aerosmith tickets.

Instead of assembling at the film’s legendary Moon Tower, the groups, and a capacity crowd of their friends and fans and the local rock following, gathered downstairs at the Middle East. The differences among the camps were obvious, from the sincere roots enthusiasts of Mr. Airplane Man to the clean-cut classic-rock fans of the Gentlemen and the black-clad Quitter crowd. When the Rumble dust had cleared, it turned out that though hours spent listening to the Aerosmith catalogue might not get the Gentlemen concert tickets, it was enough to land them the title — plus a spot at the 2002 River Rave, which Aerosmith played last year.

Showcasing their tried and true knack for hard hooks, the Gentlemen appeared the most focused of the three finalists, and ultimately the most urgent. When singer Mike Gent’s voice cracked at the apex of "Big Mistake" and he careered toward the drums in a frenzied guitar assault, it was obvious that he had not taken the night off from touring with Graham Parker to come in second.

Lucky Jackson’s crowd call-and-response on the set’s highlight, "Show Me How You Rock N’ Roll," led into the evening’s most enthusiastic crowd display of air-guitaring. And the trick of having three voices share one microphone (Gent and Jackson joined by bassist Ed Valauskas) that concluded the song is as old as rock and roll itself. Although it’s easy to dismiss such "traditions" as trite, in the end the Gentlemen won the Rumble because despite the calculated cool of their appearance they played as if this show meant something.

In the opening set Mr. Airplane Man continued to impress with the ferocity of their two-person attack. Guitarist Margaret Garrett’s dexterity with Delta-blues chords is beyond question; drummer Tara McManus summons thunder from an impossibly small kit. They ended their set with the new "Bad Feeling," a track that should make it onto a scheduled September release. The gorgeously rough vocal interplay of the least bluesy song in their set showed that this is a duo who haven’t stopped evolving.

For their part Quitter seemed unimpressed with their inclusion. The band’s Mountain-sized riffs work best when guitarist Ian Ross explores the edges of psychedelia, ˆ la Queens of the Stone Age. Given that his group are so grounded in brute force, Ross’s solos often dissolve back into the mix too quickly. Frontman Hari Hassin is an enjoyable presence, on this night taking the opportunity between swigs of beer and screaming lead vocals to chastise this publication and the guest band, B.R.M.C.

As for B.R.M.C. (short for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club), they made few fans among the evening’s musicians when they did a prima donna three-hour soundcheck prior to a one-hour club show. By the time they did hit the stage, some 45 minutes after Quitter had wrapped up, they appeared tired and listless, preferring to hide behind their Jesus and Mary Chain–inspired sound and an ample supply of artificial smoke. The band did score irony points with a performance of their little-known outtake "Kill the U.S. Government." Interesting selection given that Verve drummer Peter Salisbury was behind the kit, replacing regular member Nick Jago, who was sitting back home in London with an expired visa.

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