Live Shots

The Strange Boys

You know it's a great show when a South by Southwest showcase by an Austin band is chock-full of locals. The garage rock of Austin pride the Strange Boys isn't some derivation of the past. It's original and genuine. Ever-youthful Ryan Sambol led his Boys – brother Philip on bass, guitarist Greg Enlow, and kit master Matt Hammer – through new debut LP triumph And Girls Club, calling out the set list as the mood fit. Beginning a bit low energy, the Boys slowly built speed, and when Sambol's guitar strap escaped his frame, it was no cause for pause. "I don't want to sing right now," Sambol called back to his bandmates before launching into an instrumental duo completely at home in 1963. His boogie twitch ruled And Girls Club opener "Woe Is You and Me" and a dozen other nuggets. There's something both innocent and dirty about the Strange Boys, and with his cuffed jeans and bounce, Sambol's effect was perfectly described by one onlooker: "I wanna make him a sandwich!"