Don’t you just miss rock and roll? Lucky for us Lawrencians, Vedettes are filling that void (as they did on Friday night at the Replay). Nobody sings with this kind of soul. Vedettes are the most proficient at the art of the crescendo, the buildup, and the release (the SWEET release). This is throbbing-in-your-groin music. Rock and roll comes from the crotch, not the heart, remember? And Vedettes are going to light your crotch on fire.

Earlier in the evening, we overheard an irritated Replay reveler complain about the lack of punk rock in his life. Red Kate is no doubt the band that drew the crotchety feller out on this evening. With a new record coming out in a couple of months, Red Kate was loaded with new music. Normally, when bands pull out new songs, they’re still stumbling their way through it. But Red Kate plowed through each of their new numbers like they were old favorites. The staggeringly tall frontman is light on his feet and entirely intimidating. If you want to see this band scare the hell out of you, you can catch them at Davey’s Uptown in Kansas City on Wednesday.

Photos by Fally Afani