Stray Cats at the Rooftop at Pier 17

As pre-teens, guitarist Brian Setzer, bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom lived a few blocks from each other in the New York City suburb of Massapequa, Long Island. Bonding over a shared love of roots rock and roll, they starting playing Long Island bars in 1979, alternately calling the trio the Tomcats, the Teds, and Bryan and the Tom Cats before settling on the Stray Cats and hitting New York City's punk rock circuit. With a revival of the 1950s Teddy Boy youth subculture bubbling in England, in 1980 the Stray Cats moved to London, England, where the musicians initially couch-surfed or slept in Hyde Park and on the tube. The Stray Cats started to draw celebrity audiences to their pub gigs and enjoyed three hit singles before returning to the United States and repeating that success here thanks to heavy rotation on MTV. The debut American album, 1982's Built for Speed sold a million copies (platinum) in the US and was the No. 2 record on Billboard's album charts for 26 weeks. Setzer split the Stray Cats in 1984, and the three moved onto other projects reuniting sporadically. To celebrate the Stray Cats' 40th anniversary, the band reunited in 2018 to record 40, the first collection of new songs from the Stray Cats in 26 years, followed by the trio's first concert tour in nine years.

The Stray Cats stuck to the basics tonight at the Rooftop at Pier 17, with no extra musicians, no gimmicks, and no multi-media presentations except for the venue's projection screens. Still dressed and coiffed like 1950s cool cats, the trio performed in the spirit of the rockabilly pioneers. Setzer twanged his guitar, Rocker slapped his upright bass, and Phantom towered over his small drum kit, playing all their hits, new songs, and covers of classic songs by Gene Vincent, Dick Dale, and Dorsey Burnette. Setzer crooned soulfully on the slower songs and hit the gravel on faster songs. The set included a fair amount of jamming, reminding the listeners that Setzer in particular is an outstanding musician, mastering a vintage Sun Studio style rarely heard in contemporary music. As this tour closes, the musicians will return to their other projects (Setzer will tour in late autumn with his 19-piece big band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra), but it always will be good to see the Stray Cats reunite.

Setlist:

1. Cat Fight (Over a Dog Like Me)
2. Runaway Boys
3. Double Talkin' Baby (Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps cover)
4. Three Time's a Charm
5. Stray Cat Strut
6. Mean Pickin' Mama
7. Gene and Eddie
8. Cry Baby
9. I Won't Stand in Your Way
10. Cannonball Rag
11. Misirlou (Dick Dale cover)
12. When Nothing's Going Right
13. (She's) Sexy + 17
14. Bring It Back Again
15. My One Desire (Dorsey Burnette cover)
16. Blast Off
17. Lust n Love
18. Fishnet Stockings
19. Rock This Town

Encore:

1. Rock It Off
2. Built for Speed
3. Rumble in Brighton