Black Joe Lewis and The Honey Bears ring in '12. - Oh My Rockness

Band We Like

Black Joe Lewis and The Honey Bears ring in '12.

December 19, 2011
Black Joe Lewis and The Honey Bears are one of the many bands playing New Years Eve! Check out our Oh My Rockness Guide to NYC NYE!

Austin's Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears are one fun band to see play. When we saw them, the packed crowd was dancing along and smiling so enthusiastically, you would have thought the indie snark movement was all but dead. It's not dead though.

Led by the highly engaging front man Joe Lewis and a whole slew of supporting horn players, this music is big-band soul with a dose of rockabilly and a steady diet of the blues. I wouldn't even know what contemporary bands to compare them to, other than to say there's really no comparison. James Brown definitely comes to mind though.

Joe Lewis' recorded songs are pretty good, but really this is a band that's best from the stage. Lewis tells crazy stories and his horn players synchronize their movements in time with his croons and their own boozy beats. Start with the song "Bitch, I love you." It's all really better than it sounds.

Black Joe Lewis and The Honey Bears play Double Door on New Year's Eve.

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