Hollywood and I are probably the last music lovers in the South to have not seen The Dempseys live, but after the show this past Thursday we can rest easy having finally seen them at Barley's here in Knoxville, TN. I will say that I absolutely got my money's worth at the show in more ways than one. The guys are obviously ridiculously talented and maticulous showmen. Guitarist, vocalist and trumpet player Bradley Dean Birkedahl reminded me of a combination of Carl Perkins and Rick Miller from Southern Culture on the Skids. Bassist "Slick" Joe Fick looked like some combination of Henry Rollins and this dude named Garrett I went to high school with, and his stage presence reminded me of a mix between Jim Carrey and Les Claypool. And Drummer Ron Perrone, Jr. was like a mix of Charlie Watts and my cousin Eric. I know it sounds like I'm making fun, but these can can flat out play. They have any number of stage tricks like switching instruments, climbing up on the bass and playing, and pretty much tag teaming on two instruments at once. There's no doubt that these guys have a ton of creativity in what they do, and they've put in a lot of time in putting on a great show. A Dempseys show is absolutely worth your time, especially if it's your first time seeing them.

All that being said, the best thing about the Dempseys show was Suzie Q. Suzie Q was the girl that I fell in love with at the show. If my girlfriend reads this, I'd like to promise her that I'm only writing this cause I thought it would be entertaining, and that Suzie Q really does not exist. For everyone else, yes she does and I love her. Seriously. I'd marry her tomorrow if I thought she'd ever give me the time of day. Any girl at a rock show automatically raises her hottness quotient, but this girl was just ridicuous. At risk of getting a certain SBD friend of mine in trouble, I'll change the name of the person I went to the show with (although I'm almost certain I gave him away earlier in this post, but am too lazy and alomst to drunk to check back), but Dollywood agreed with me about this girl. It was like the scene in "Wayne's World" where Wayne first saw Cassandra. I didn't hear "Dream Weaver," but I certainly understood John Fogerty's thoughts when he wrote her song oh so many years ago.

So in summary, go see the Dempseys, and Suzie Q, baby I love you, Suzie Q.