A flyer announced a live appearance by The Blakes at Luna Music Tuesday evening. I checked out their Myspace page and liked the tunes previewed there. So I decided to swing by on my way home from work. The versatile Luna crewmember---record seller/soundman/roadie---was helping the band get set up, working the levels on the sound board---as the band soundchecked to a rough cover of The Troggs' "I Can't Control Myself". A great sign of what was to follow. I love that song. I couldn't help singing along to the "Bom-bom bompa bom-bom bom bom boms" of the chorus. The Blakes were on their way to St. Louis from Toronto and had been hassled at the border by authority figures. At the start of their set, there were about 15 music lovers in attendance, including 3 videographers covering the event for a broadcast to be named later. Throughout the set, folks trickled in to hear the trio's fierce garage rock sounds. There was the Elliot Smith look-alike back by the books section, Stephen Malkmus Jr. staked out a spot below the Beth Orton poster, a girl with an owl tattoo peeking up over her moccasin tapped her toes by the register. An enterprising young father sat his daughter on his shoulders and protected her ears with the headphones from a nearby listening station. The Blakes do the good work known as rock. I've not seen a more energetic drummer. I wanted to hear more, they would have electrified a club like Radio Radio. The Blakes, who live in Seattle, promised to come back through town on their next tour. They would do well to keep that promise. They have some new fans who were pleased to buy Blakes records and get personalized signatures. Check out their Myspace page and keep an eye on their upcoming tour dates. http://myspace.com/theblakes