Photo from www.rocketclub.info
A few thoughts on Rocket Club, the Twin Cities indie country band with mainstream aspirations, and its CD release party Thursday at the Varsity Theater:
* These six guys work well together onstage. They are tight, their vocal harmonies are impressive and they have a strong sense of how to entertain a crowd.
* Adding pedal steel guitarist Joe Savage and banjo/dobro player Kenny Wilson for the night was a smart move.
* The dance-off competition between high-spirited frontman Chris Hawkey and fun-loving K102 morning DJ Muss during "I Can't Dance" was a hoot and a highlight. And that song could be a hit.
* "Four Letter World" sure sounded like a country hit, in the spirit of Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup." Yes, it's a novelty tune but it's clever and catchy. It could be a career-making song.
* The stand-out selections on Rocket Club's third album are "Every Silver Lining," "Living Out Loud" and the aforementioned "I Can't Dance" and "Four Letter World."
* "North Country," the title tune of the new album and a modest local hit, proved to a galvanizing live regional anthem with its "Indian Outlaw"-like stomp. Too bad that the Varsity was only half full for this finale.
