The fans at Off Broadway were treated to quite a show this last Monday  when Randall Shreve came to town and was joined by our very own Alley Cats to create an experience that was reminiscent  of older time cabaret and vaudeville shows.

Shreve himself is from New York,  having been a  musician and performer most of his life he has stayed away from more mainstream fare and has tried to create something meaningful and original.  His music is a very eclectic mix of soulful vocal's,  macrabe guitar licks and circusy piano playing that combine into a sound rarely heard in the midwest.  You could definatly tell someone had hurt this man at some point in his life and he wanted to share that pain with you.

The Alley Cat Revue was nothing short of amazing. Lola Van Ella,  Sturdy Gurlesque, GoGo McGregor, Foxy Le Feeloin and Greta Garter  opened the show, each doing some of their best individual acts and when the band started they did a wonderful group number to Randall's opening set. They then proceded  to accompany the band through the various songs that they  performed.  I must admit the highlight of the whole show was watching both of these acts come together to create a truly unique experience that was a treat for both the eyes and ears alike. 

The band gave a powerful performance and sounded very good.  Shreve has a great stage presence,  playing piano, singing and taking the occasional pull off of the bottles of red wine that were amply placed upon the stage. They are one of the few acts that sound almost the same on stage as they do recorded.  The whole band came off very practiced and sounded tight, you could tell that all of them really enjoyed playing with each other and that they welcomed the addition of the Alley Cats to the show.

It is always good to see and hear music that strays from the industry standards and sounds original unto itself, music created from heartache or a life well lived. This show seemed to inspire a lot of the people in attendance. I had talked to a few different people who were going to sign up for burlesque classes afterwards. Many people were talking to various members of  the band after the show to learn more about them or the music they played  all of whom were happy to have a drink and learn more about their fans and what people thought about the show.

The show was great, the drinks were strong and the women were beyond beautiful! In my book, I could not ask for much more in a night than that right there...maybe free corn dogs, I love corn dogs.