Playing Murphy’s on Friday, July 6th, Minneapolis’ Danny Commando Y Los Guapos are pretty highly regarded in their hometown, with a straightforward style that fits comfortably with the white-guy rock sound of recent Twin Cities exports such as Semisonic, Soul Asylum, the Jayhawks, and the Honeydogs. The Stonesy bar rock of guitar/bass/drums/trumpet that is captured on the group’s most recent album, Hell Over Purgatory, is likely to remind some of Morphine, but I find it less uptight and more inviting. In a week that is light on notable bands, this unknown-in-these-parts outfit is definitely a risk worth taking. — Chris Herrington
They have great stage names: Eldorado Del Rey, Slim Electro, and Randy Valentine. They use a beat-up piece of Samsonite luggage instead of a kick drum. They have maracas. They are The Porch Ghouls, and their loose, loungy answer to that hypnotic hill-country sound that pours out of north Mississippi is a hip-shaking blast of cool punk ruckus in a town that sometimes takes its blues heritage way too seriously. Porch Ghouls shows can certainly be reverent and restrained but they can also be boozy, all-night danceathons capable of transforming any venue into a roadhouse Saturday night. Surprise visits from local rapper Hunchoe the Phenom raise the roof every time.
The Porch Ghouls will be playing a free show on Sunday, July 8th, at Shangri-La Records to commemorate the release of their first record, a cover-laden 10-inch recorded by ’68 Comeback maestro Jeffrey Evans and put out by left-coast indie, Orange. The record includes yet another version of the classic song “Going Down South,” which we all need about as much as a second appendix, so ridicule them mercilessly. Enjoy all the rest. — Chris Davis
