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THE DETROIT COBRAS
Mercury Lounge, New York City
August 2005
In August '05, the Detroit Cobras swung through
New York City, performing a brief set at Mercury
Lounge to a packed audience of reporters and
fans. With her white-blond hair, blunt-cut bangs
and multiple tattoos, Nagy cut a striking figure
on stage. But the second the band kicked into
gear, she broke out in a wide grin and started
up her own playful cha-cha twist, dancing and
laughing throughout the show.
Despite technical difficulties and the occasional
ear-splitting feedback, the Cobras gamely persevered,
clearly having a ball at what appeared to be
a low-pressure gig. They kicked it off with
“Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand,” a
track from their latest Bloodshot album, Baby,
and plowed through 15 more songs in just about
an hour, including “Slippin’ Away,”
fan favorite “Cha Cha Twist,” and
“Hot Dog” (to date, the only Cobras
original, though, saucy lyrics aside, it’s
enough of a throwback to be mistaken for a ‘60s
track).
Onstage, Nagy was a pistol, gamely teasing
the audience and firing up one cigarette after
another in between belting out songs in her
husky, soulful voice (which got markedly huskier
as the cigarette count increased).
She also heckled the hecklers, who seemed mostly
interested in either proposing marriage or hearing
the band play “Shout Bamalama,”
a raucous Otis Redding cover that is probably
their best-known song. At the end of the night,
those fans got at least one of their wishes
as the band ripped into the tune, sending an
already revved-up audience into a frenzy of
hip-shaking – no mean feat for an audience
of jaded NYC hipsters. The Cobras will stay
on the road through the fall, playing a string
of club dates in the North East. (Amanda Cantrell)
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