Concert Review: The Detroit Cobras and the Greenhornes, Friday Feb. 28, Double Door

The Greenhornes displayed why they have largely been just a footnote in all the neo-garage movement press. They lacked charisma. They lacked enthusiasm. Their best song was a cover I can't quick place although it sounds like it should have been a Nuggets track. The band is just a pastiche, an excuse for the stylized haircuts and retro typeface of their logo.

Fortunately, the Detroit Cobras had the spirit that the Greenhornes lacked. They looked like degenerates, and I mean that as a compliment. Throaty singer Rachel Nagy exhorted the audience to start dancing, but the rest of the band provided reason enough. As a cover band, albeit one that chooses obscure songs to cover, they will never change rock and roll. But if all the punk kids from all the high schools joined forces to hold their own prom, the Detroit Cobras would be the perfect band.