The band Triage, made up of Tobie Dean Tripodi, on guitars and vocals; Ann Mounty, voice and various hand-held percussion instruments; and our neighbor Sue Cialini-King, on guitars and vocals, made its seasonal return to Cherry’s on July 20. On this busy day, of many events, I heard all of the first set and part of the next.
In its opening selection, “Authority Song” (“I fight authority, authority always wins”), Triage took a hard, frank look at bucking the establishment. Next, Ann was featured soloist, considering that “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” The trio, led by Tobie, musically professed love for the “American Girl.” Ann, backed by the others, sang a strong “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’,” Nancy Sinatra’s classic revenge number, with sing-along and dance-along invited.
In “Venus” (“I’m your Venus, I’m your fire”), Triage probed the rock paean to the divine ideal. The musicians questioned if life is harder “With or Without You.” In the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” they paid fiery tribute to an apparently iconic figure in the Stones’ lives. A hot, plangent “The Chain” followed. Better beware, they warned, of “The Devil with a Blue Dress on.” Ready for a rumble?—“Saturday Night’s Alright for Fightin’,” sang Sue, backed by Tobie and then Ann as well.
“You Shook Me,” opening Triage’s second set, got the crowd, filling the dance floor, up dancing and shaking. There was no body shaming those “Fat Bottomed Girls”—just the opposite: “you make the rocking world go round.” In “Joy to the World,” Jeremiah the bullfrog inspired much singing along. There was joy and harmony aplenty in “We Belong,” the last of Triage’s songs that I was able to hear.
Watch for Triage’s next appearance here.