When it comes to Arrogance, North Carolina’s original DIY rock ‘n’ roll band, either you were there–or you weren’t born yet. Thanks to the quintet’s rare reunion Saturday, July 23 in Carrboro, however, old-timers who dug these major dudes during the ’70s and ’80s will joyously commingle with the uninitiated. In other words, the parents will bring their kids, who will immediately understand what all the fuss was about. Arrogance was that good.
And on a perfect midsummer’s night at Cat’s Cradle, Arrogance will be good again, commemorating the 25th anniversary of their final studio LP, Suddenly (Warner Bros/Curb). “We’ll play the whole record song-to-song and in the same order,” reports Don Dixon, the bass player who still sings like an angel.
Since Robert Kirkland, a remarkable singer in his own right, penned the bulk of Suddenly, Saturday’s gig will showcase his trademark wooly-bully howl front and center. “Get Her Out of My Life,” Kirkland’s kiss-off to a sorry ex-lover, rocks as hard as anything Arrogance committed to vinyl. The set list will also include pianist Marty Stout’s honky-tonk “Cost of Money,” guitarist Rod Abernethy’s rollicking “What It Takes,” and Dixon’s faux-macho “(Baby I’m Not Your) Taxi,” a muscle-shirt riff borrowed from–yeah boy!–Deep Purple.
