Pearl, alongside husband Scott Ian of Anthrax (who moonlights in her band of troubadours), recently hit the road for a string of smaller, very intimate club dates, really taking it to the ground in a cool way that some famous artists would be too grandiose to entertain. I thought it was extremely awesome when I heard Pearl and Scott were coming to The Basement in Kingston, New York, a venue that usually holds decent sized but still somewhat contained punk and metal shows. You gotta take it to the streets sometimes and represent to get my respect, and Pearl and Scott not only threw down a great set, but also were cooler to the fans at the show than many, many other musicians I have come across in my years doing this. Practically everyone in the club got a picture with them by the end of the night.

The turnout for the event was lighter than expected, although mainly do to the fact that there was a huge benefit show at a local brewery for the remembrance of regional Hudson Valley guitarist Jason Foster, a former member of the bands Evidence and an early version of Metal Blade artists Three who recently tragically passed away. I hit up most of the Foster benefit and then skipped over to the nearby Basement to take in the Pearl show with the other lucky hooligans in attendance.

Openers Beneath The Fallen kinda reminded me of Disturbed mixed with sorta radio rock in the vein of Puddle Of Mudd or something. Not really my cup of tea considering that lately all I've been bumping is Sabbath Assembly, Type O Negative and the newest Krokus record, but Beneath The Fallen put on a good show for what they do. I know people that really love this band and they are very hard working, so if you are into that style, I would definitely tell you to check them out.

Planeside from Purchase, New York really remind me of a sorta cross between Foo Fighters and a more melodic version of The Bronx with a touch less insanity. They put on a good, rowdy set and I love power trios. These guys have some great hooks and were cool to talk with before the show. They have really been workin' hard in the scene as well and have played with bands ranging from Army Of Anyone to Pennywise, Sum 41 and even Gilby Clarke over the years. The group's sound is pretty versatile, straddling a rock and "alternative" melodic angle rather effortlessly. The best part of Planeside by far, though, is the rather madhouse chops and vibe of bassist Ken. Good stuff, dudes.

Pearl played a relatively long set of tunes ranging from warm, Black Crowes-esque balladry to some fierce boogie. She really does sound like a less raspy Janis Joplin at times, with a much creamier croon. The best song of Pearl's set was the lush "Mama", and she talked candidly about having actually been born in Kingston, New York up the street (part of her motivation for stopping in town on her tour). It was pretty trippy to see her and Scott in such a punk venue just chilling out with a bunch of us rock fans, and anyone who was bummed that the music isn't insane metal like Anthrax is really missing the point. Musicians don't always wanna play the same kinda thing all the time and I think it is cool to see Scott and the Mother Superior boys expanding into some boozy blues rock territory as players. It is way cool to have a band with chops and hard rock heart supporting Pearl's voice rather than if she had a more poppy direction, because this sound suits her talents and demeanor greatly. Pearl was funny at points in the set and kept going "Yeah!" and holding up a rock fist to the crowd, while I also gotta give props to Scott Ian's Hunter S. Thompson "gonzo" t-shirt. The weather was hot as fuck for the first of May, but they all threw down their hardest.

After the show ended, pure mayhem ensued amongst the gleeful rockers who couldn't believe what they had just seen. Kim from the awesome (and growing in notoriety) dirty Jersey punk band The F Bombers was on hand, and although she wasn't really into Pearl's type of music it was fun to meet Kim and yell Mercyful Fate lyrics with her as loud as we could. My friend Monik somehow had a taser and my pal Bobby, being a maniac, took off his shirt right away in the bar in front of everyone and offered to be a test subject if people would by him free drinks. That is as desperate as something I would do and so I'd like to extend a Crusher cheers to Bobby for actually making someone else look like a bigger asshole than me for once in an article. (I hope my editor will run the picture for posterity as you can also see me smirking and looking on.)

Pearl and Scott signed lots of autographs for people and I have to give a shout out of appreciation for something Scott Ian did that I thought was unprecedented in awesomeness for a rock star of his fame. My pal Carl Carlew, bassist of the bad ass hardcore band Painmask was talking to Scott and said how much his kids would've loved to have met him and loved Anthrax. Scott asked where they were and Carl said they were at home. Hearing this, even though they were loading out and getting ready to leave, Scott said to Carl that he would wait for Carl to drive home and bring back his family for a photo with Scott and promised the band wouldn't leave until it happened. That is super fucking cool and classy.

Overseas readers, Little Immaculate White Fox just came out in the UK and Australia, so go grab a copy and the same for you Stateside fans of bluesy goodness. Cheers!