ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, JUNE 18, 1982
By Steve Newton
Seattle’s Dynette Set stole the show at last Saturday’s (June 12) Youth Explosion #3 in the West End Community Centre.
The show, put on by CITR and the Community Centre, saw the popular Vancouver club act the b-Sides headlining, rockers the Modernettes backing them up, and the reggae-oriented Floating Boats opening the show.
But the most explosive act in my books was the second band, Dynette Set.
Fronted by vocalists Christy McWilson, Riki Mafune, and Shelley Stockstill, the Washington band recreated the pop sound of the fifties and sixties with spirited versions of the Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back”, Connie Francis’ “Stupid Cupid”, and the show-stopping Supremes classic “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”.
Guitarists Bill Larsen and Brent Pennington kept the girls in high gear with their chugging rhythms and wicked leads, and bassist Scott McCaughey and drummer Dave Drewry deserve equal credit for holding the bottom down.
The Modernetes may have got more punkers rocking and the b-Sides more boppers bopping, but Dynette Set impressed me the most with their killer renditions of pop oldies.