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Since relocating to Cleveland permanently, it is much easier to just pop-in at any show I want…

Rooney is a band I stumbled across when visiting my younger brother/aspiring young musician. He was telling me I should check them out, because he looks like he’s a member of the band, and they reminded him of The Kinks! Well, after seeing these guys in person… my little brother is right! The lead singer (ROBERT CARMINE) is a dead ringer for my sibling… and yes, there is a tinge of old ‘Kinks’ to them! In this wave of garage rock revival… Rooney I feel stands out in the pack, because they actually sound “happy” … at least musically they do. They have these pleasant melodical arrangements, plus they harmonize sweetly… and they don’t come off as a bunch of untalented pussies either! To put it to you straight… they are CUTE! Cute looking, cute sounding, cute acting! And I don’t find it a nauseating… sickly sweet kind of cute… Rooney are that kind of cute you can’t find fault with!

They did their hit “Blue Side” very early on (I think it may have been the 2nd song)… which I respect bands that do that… get their hit out of the way so they can experiment onstage with their lesser known tracks. They did perform songs that will be coming out on their new CD, which is alienating to most fans… but to me, that shows progression. They are very tight musically, they have good showmanship onstage… and they definitely seem like they enjoy what they are doing! I didn’t get any arrogant vibe from them… and they did like to interact with the audience.

To sum it up… if you like Rooney, or even have a fleeting interest in them… they are worth checking out live!

The Odeon, Cleveland Ohio, July 8th, 2004