The Choke - 10 / 9 - Corktown Tavern - with Amino Acids

The Choke came through Detroit last year and put on one of the more engaging live shows I’ve seen in a while – tirelessly energetic, coming right up to the crowd and being downright charming (if still rootin, tootin and noisy) with blasting, grinding guitars falling into the most infectious of pop/rock hooks. People throw the word “punk” on bands like the Ramones or early Blondie-stuff in the same confused sense that most blog write ups will call The Choke “punk.” While they certainly are “punk”, in some senses – be it the occasional confrontational vocal screams or tough talking lyrics or ever-accelerating song tempos – they have such a great sensibility for classic rock – and I’m talking Chuck Berry’s infectious rockabilly swagger – but we should also take note that this band draws upon the soul and passion of Motown as much as it does the shitkicking beer swilling spill-out of CBGBs. You can hear it all – classic 60’s garage can mutate into some Dead Kennedy’s rant just like…that!

With a reliably rousing live show – the Choke are hitting the road in support of their debut self-titled full length.

See them - 10 / 9 - at the Corktown Tavern with the Amino Acids

The Choke - Picture from The Choke on Vimeo.