The Woggles
Habana Calle 6 Patio, Friday, March 17
There’s nothing better than going to a show and being knocked on your ass by a band that clobbers your expectations and makes you feel ashamed you haven’t seen them sooner. That was the kind of show the Woggles played at their Chicken Ranch Records showcase. Now in their 19th year, the Georgia-bred quartet literally wore their fealty of Sixties garage rock on their matching aquamarine shirtsleeves. A coterie of go-go dancers added to the Shindig vibe, but this was more than just another garden-party nostalgia trip. With most garage-rock drummers emerging from the punk school, few can nail an R&B backbeat with the get-down goodness of the Woggles’ Dan Elektro. He knew how to “Get Down With It” and give the folks up front “Something to Believe In.” Based on impeccable cover choices like the Lords’ “Help the World Is Falling,” you just know they have great record collections back home. As their set wore on, the volume of dancers made Habana Calle 6’s patio look like the set of a Sixties afternoon dance party show on local TV. Occasionally the Woggles themselves made forays into the crowd, fomenting a fever pitch that tested the mettle of even the most blasé chin-scratchers. Retro is retro, but when the soul-stirring gets this good, it becomes timeless.
This article appears in March 24 • 2006.
