Formed in the hotbeds of Atlanta in 1980, the Georgia Satellites burned the charts with their retro-rockin' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself," only to later vanish into anonymity.
Forgotten but not gone, the Satellites blasted into Coyote's on March 27, heating things up on a cold, drizzly Sunday night.
Original founder and singer-guitarist Dan Baird left the Satellites in '91 to pursue a solo career, resulting in "I Love You Period" off the rollicking, raunchy Love Songs for the Hearing Impaired CD. In interviews, Baird has assumed full responsibility for the band's demise in '91, claiming he fired himself for having a bad attitude.
Since then, the band has regrouped with only two of its original members — singer-guitarist Rick Richards and bassist Rick Price. In addition, a 20-track collection called The Best of the Georgia Satellites was compiled and released last year.
The Satellites caused a sensation when they burst on the music scene with their raunchy, high-spirited roots rock that blends elements of rock, blues and country, and a three-chord gambit reminiscent of rock's early days. On Sunday night, they gave a good solid performance to a mainly disinterested crowd.
What a shame the Louisville disco club scene doesn't operate on Sundays. So many people who paid hard-earned money for music were otherwise too busy checking each other out to notice that a band was playing.
The Satellites played both originals and covers from their over-a-decade-long, on-and-off career, kicking things off with a rousing cover, The Rolling Stones' "All Over Now."
The two-hour-plus set featured pile-driving, good-time country rock imbued with often emotionally compelling and raunchy sentiments.
Nineteen fifties style rock 'n' roll was revived with "Hippy Hippy Shakes," an infectious dance song that grabbed the crowd's attention and got them dancing.
However, the evening wouldn't have been complete without their monster hit "Keep Your Hands to Yourself," a tale of unrequited lust. It fulfilled every expectation and the crowd ate it up. Price encouraged everyone to sing along and they loudly responded without missing a beat.
John McCafferty and the Beaver Brown Band opened the show with a set of bluesy rock. Early on they performed their haunting signature smash "Dark Side." Together, the two groups delivered a full four hours of down-to-earth rock 'n' roll. It definitely livened up an otherwise dreary Sunday night in Louisville.