Vodka DiMilo, Broken Teeth
Melody Inn
Saturday, April 14

It is a common sight to see Greg Brenner on stage at Punk Rock Night at the Melody Inn. When Brenner got up on stage this past Saturday, it wasn’t to announce the next band, because he was in the next band. Vodka DiMilo, making its official live public debut, was as far as local supergroup type bands go — pretty good and loaded with potential.

Jason Cavan was the quietest person in the band, and he was playing his bass rig crushingly loud. Thom Woodard furiously unleashed his strat-o-rific magic, building off of Justin Allen’s steady rhythm and Brenner’s almost disturbing Johnny Van Zandt-on-acid-and-painkillers persona. Glen Hopkins tied it all together with a goofy, bug-eyed Moon stint on the drum kit. Songs like “Watermaker” and “Birthday Present” were strong and memorable. All signs point to a bright future for this band.

However, the reason we gathered together at the Mel Saturday was to rock out to the mastery of Jason McMaster and Broken Teeth of Austin, Texas. Blessed with a set of pipes that resemble the late Bon Scott, McMaster and Co. blew through a fine set of pre-Powerage-type riffage, ending the set with a speech on how everybody in the room “bled black” and were drawn to the “evil power” of rock and roll. The band then proceeded to blow the place apart with “El Diablo.”