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Derby at Uncle P's

By William Brents

Unlike most who concerned themselves with the actual Run for the Roses, I focused my attention on a more important matter: which Derby club show should I attend? Since I know that the suspense is eating you up, I'll share: this year, I went with Uncle Pleasant's Derby night line-up of Your Food, Love Child, the
Babylon Dance Band and Bo Deco.

It was a reunion show for the Louisville punk-era band Your Food and they did their best to set the early pace. Vocalist Doug Maxon's fast-and-clinched singing style complimented his herky-jerky body movements. As for the music, the songs were short, basic and raw. Pure punk.

Love Child, a New York City noise band, followed with a scorching half-hour set that filled the bar with both patrons and feedback. The trio's sound is comparable to such bands as Sonic Youth and Eleventh Dream Day, both of whom incorporate a dual-guitar frenzy while Love Child used only one. Really, that's all they needed.

Louisville's own Babylon Dance Band was up next and the enthusiastic crowd knew it. Everyone calmly moved as close to the stage as possible in anticipation of a complete dance blowout and that's just what they received.

I stood directly in front of guitarist Tara Key, who was clearly inspired and possessed. Her supersonic style gave the term "No Quarter" a new meaning. She was intense, collapsing on several occasions by still reeking musical havoc while on her back, knees and even in a headlock that was clamped on her by singer Chip Nold. Speaking of Nold, he was probably the only disappointing element of the show. His lackluster singing couldn't rival the band's massive jams. When Key, bassist Tim Harris and drummer Sean Mulhall let loose, Nold's presence and vocals seemed somewhat diluted.

The true strength of the Babylon Dance Band is the incredible energy they generate in their songs. Mulhall's propulsive, mad-as-hell drumming, co-existing with Harris' creative bass parts, really set the table for one of Key's seven- to eight-minute free-for-all solos.

After the Babylon Dance Band's set, I was spent, so I exited, missing out on Bo Deco. My apologies, guys, but the old Derby weekend party symptoms took over. I spare you the details.