Traci Trouble and Susie Q of The Wanton Looks

January 28, 2010 @ Lincoln Hall

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By Dave Miller

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I ventured into the arctic cold Thursday night and wound up discovering my new favorite band. It took about five seconds to see The Wanton Looks mean business. That's all it took for the band to blast their show into lift-off. I recognized the four girls in the band immediately as fellow believers in the power of rock and roll. They say they will break your face and your heart. I don't doubt they can do that. But they'll also rock you. Throw in some power-pop hooks and punk attitude and hang on for a joy ride.

The Wanton Looks headlined a four-band bill on a "Girls Out of the Garage" showcase at Lincoln Hall. They were by far the best band. You want to know what's funny? Bassist and lead singer Traci Trouble, guitarists Inga Olson and Susie Q, and drummer Meg Thomas have been together for just about a year and have played only about 10 shows. For them to be this good as a band in such a short time together is indicative of the chemistry they share. Trouble gives you the impression that she's earned her name. She's the band's main creative force and its physical one, too, flanked by engaging guitarsts Olson and Susie Q and backed by Thomas, who pounds the drums with relentless purpose. Each has a strong stage presence - with no pretense. They look like a gang ready to take on the world. They seemingly have the talent, look and passion to do it, too.

The 40-minute set contained 10 strong songs, which is about the number they have written. They plan to go into a recording studio soon. A smart record company will sign 'em, release a full-blown album and send 'em on the road to rock the world.

The setlist:

Worst Side of Me
Demons
Come On
All I Want is You
Used & Abused
Electromagnetic Force
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
Forget You
Get Through to You
86 Me

Start: 11:07 p.m./Finish: 11:47 p.m.
Totals: 10 songs, 40 minutes

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Some impressions of the other bands on the bill...

Scotia Widows played for a little under a half hour to start the night. The band showed potential even though its vocals were buried in the mix. It needs to work on its stage presence and vocal variety, but I thought the set came alive in the final two songs, "Hibernate" and "Amish Sluts."

The Maybenauts were next. Their 35-minute set was easily the second-best of the night. Singer Leilani Frey complained of the flu, but she sure didn't let it bring her energy and performance down. If that's how the pop-rock group sounds when she's sick, I'd like to hear it when Frey's feeling groovy. She's an entertaining frontwoman. I was impressed with the heavy drumming of Emily Agustin and some cool lines by bassist Ellie Maybe. I liked Vee Sonnets' guitar work, too, especially once he took off his panda head after a couple songs. Personally, when a band is this good, I don't think coming out in a panda costume does it any good, but it looks like it's a regular schtick.

Leslie Hunt played the longest set of the night at a little more than 50 minutes in the third slot. In addition to the usual setup, her band also featured a keyboardist and two backing singers. In contrast to the other three bands on the bill, Hunt was more "American Idol" than Billy Idol, but that shouldn't have been a surprise. She's a pop singer who had a short stint on "American Idol." Hunt's definitely a talented vocalist, especially on material which serves her best. Half of her set did nothing for me, but the other half was engaging and she and her band truly soared on a number or two. I got somewhat a forced vibe from her overall performance, though. I'd like to see Hunt tone down the pop showiness and delve deeper into her singing and songs more often.