Bad Scene and Jodie Watts teamed up for a night of punchy pop/punk at Sleight of Hand Cellars last weekend, playing for an audience composed of musicians, local music aficionados, and wine connoisseurs. The local music scene was well represented both onstage and off with members of the Fastbacks, Young Fresh Fellows, Filthy Friends, Mudhoney, the Posies, El Steiner, Concrete Blonde, Sweetwater, the Rockfords, and Pearl Jam onstage and in the crowd.

Jodie Watts opened the evening with a fun and energetic performance which was warmly received by the appreciative audience. Bass player Rick Friel was especially animated, exhorting the assembled to sing along to a cover of Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ and, at one point, playing a slide bass solo with a wine glass taking the place of the expected metal tube or Coricidin bottle. Now THAT’S something you don’t see every day!

Bad Scene (consisting of brothers Kurt and Al Bloch, and ace drummer Richard Stuverud) then delivered a knockout set of tunes culled from their last couple of releases with a stellar cover of Nick Lowe’s ‘Heart of the City’ thrown in for good measure. Bad Scene’s yearly visits to the Pacific Northwest have become a welcome musical highlight for me and this time through may have been the best visit yet. Sleight of Hand is a lovely spot to take in a show with plenty of room to move around, a fantastic wine list, and top-notch sound. The Sleight of Hand owners and staff are avid music fans and it comes across in the execution of the shows that they host.