Last Night I Saw A Band That Was Focused, Great Sounding, And Having Fun – Faster Pussycat

Have you ever been to a show and it seemed like the band mailed it in? Maybe they played a bunch of days straight and were running out of gas? I can say that was not the case last night in Belleville.

What a fun show with Faster Pussycat at the Diamondback last night. It's the first show I've seen at the revamped music hall. As I was watching the band on stage, I started thinking about the thousands of miles they've traveled, the countless shows they've played, and the millions of fans they've played to in their almost 40-year history. Taime Downe is the only original member, but plays these songs like they're brand new. I can't even imagine how many times he's sung "Bathroom Wall" or "House Of Pain", but during last night's performance, you would have thought they were new songs. Taime and the band looked like they were genuinely having fun on stage.

Yeah, it was a Tuesday night in Detroit, and the place wasn't packed. But there were a fair number of fans inside making a racket. The band played like they were on stage for thousands in an arena. There was even a time when Taime sat off to the side of the stage as the other guys gave him a break. He tapped his toes and was fully engaged with what they were doing on stage, a smile on his face. 

I was also trying to think if I'd ever seen them live before, and it's possible that I did back in the late 80s as an opener. I can't recall, but last night's show made me a bigger fan of the band. They gave the fans in attendance a great show!

Afterward, drummer Chad Stewart took me on the bus to meet Taime, who I'd interviewed over the phone but never met in person. I found him to be someone you can talk to like you've known him for years. I mean, we talked about rock music and Harley's, two subjects right in my wheelhouse, so that made conversation easy. I was jealous as he told me about how he's ridden in every state except Alaska, Maine, and Hawaii. That's incredible! 

Taime told me stories of the 80s. He and I grew up in two totally different places. He spent his youth on the Sunset Strip during the heyday of the hairbands. He was in the middle of it all. I can only imagine the things he's seen and the people he's met throughout the years. That was a movement back then. A decade of debauchery for sure! He also co-owned the legendary Cathouse. 

He was in the rock documentary The Decline Of The Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years. If you haven't seen that, make sure you put it on your list. It's been forever since I watched it so maybe I'll have to turn it on again soon. 

Let me be the first to wish Taime an early happy 60^th birthday next month. It's great to see him sober, focused, and killing it on stage. The guy looked and sounded really good! I hope you get a new Harley for the milestone birthday! And a special thank you to my bud Don Jamieson for the hookup. Thanks, bro. 

Alright, go out and see a live band!

[select-gallery gallery_id="1088727" syndication_name="hockey-legend-darren-mccarty-greets-fans" description="yes"]