Dennis Kane and The Hoarder’s

Photo by Bryan Whitson

If you love music then one of the coolest places to work in DC has to be The Black Cat. With its consistently amazing schedule of local and national bands, this venue is always teaming with up and coming musicians and local legends. The venues own staff often falls into that category as well, and The Black Cat’s sound guy Dennis Kane has one of the most coveted jobs at The Black Cat. Kane interacts with and sees a lot of bands so it would make sense that when he unveiled his own musical endeavor—The Hoarder’s—it would be a combination of all that is good with rock and roll.

Crowed into the backstage on Wednesday, January 13th The Black Cat was humming with excitement. Greenland and Dennis Kane had both brought in a full and gracious crowd. Before the show started Dennis Kane sat at the bar drinking and discussing the in’s and out’s of DC music and beyond, while Tom Waits blared out of the Jukebox. Looking quite at home, you can tell that Kane is comfortable here and that he was ready to put on a great show for new and loyal followers alike.

The show opened with a solid rock song called “Miss the Snow” that reminded me of the “Rock and Roll” album that Ryan Adams put out a few years back. Kane’s voice is very accessible and comforting. The guitar work throughout the show was nothing short of great. The trademark fender twang was masterfully handled and the solos fit easily into the songs. My favorite song of the night was, “They Will Get What They Want.” It is a foot-stomping song that had great lyrical imagery of late romps into the rock star lifestyle. The rhythm was solid and the bass and drums drove this song into your head without much chance of it leaving anytime soon. They closed the night with the song “A Hand-Made Horizon” that mixed Echo and The Bunnymen with a hint of surf guitar.

Dennis Kane and the Hoarder’s can take you back to the days of rock and roll’s adolescence when the The Smiths and Echo and The Bunnymen were expanding the idea of what a verse and chorus could be. I highly recommend picking the new album “The Two of Us.” Check him out here.