Was checking out “Later” last night and contrary to what many may think – Rock Lives!

Not only one, but three very talented acts that I had never heard of all rocked. I think the “Later” format with all the bands playing in a circle, really forces everyone to bring their best game. Kind of like a battle of the bands. The thing that impressed me the most was that all three groups looked like they were in their twenties.

The first artist that got my attention was the singer/bass player Amy LaVerne – who performed the ultra cool “Killing Him” (didn’t make her love go away). Interesting topic! Great melody, hook and chord changes topped off my Amy’s smooth and sexy voice. The band was small. Only a trio of bass, guitar and drums, but they were really tight.

Next up was the incredible “Sia” – who looks like she has the potential to be a big force in the music biz. Sia has an amazing voice and is backed by a bunch of great players. I hopped over to You Tube to check out some of her stuff and really like what she’s doing with video. The Breath Me video reminds me of something that Peter Gabriel would do. When reading her bio at wikapedia I see she released her first solo recording back in 2000 so I guess I’m late in discovering this very talented singer.

The last act that brought the house down was the amazing “Cage The Elephant” who performed their hit “Ain’t No Rest For Wicked”. I’ve been singing the very catchy hook all morning. I’m sure there are a lot of people out their that can relate to that one! These guys really rocked with a great funky beat and slide guitar. If they can keep up this kind of stuff on future releases, I’m sure they are going to be big.

What really got my attention is that after checking out all three acts on YouTube, as good as their studio tracks sounded – they were even better when playing live. MUCH better. In this age of lip syncing and pre recorded sequenced tracks, it’s good to see young musicians out there that actually can play the hell out of their instruments. Makes an old rocker like me feel good that the future of Rock is not as bleak as I thought.

Rock On!