Thursday, January 26, 2006

Bopcats Forever

Lindy Fralin's band the Bopcats has been at it for 30 years. Can that possibly be true?

Let's see, thirty years ago the Steelers beat the Cowpies in Super Bowl X. “All the President’s Men,” “Taxi Driver” and “Rocky” were among the popular films that came out in 1976. Tom Petty’s and Blondie’s first albums were released. The Reds swept the Yankees in the World Series. Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford in the presidential race (I won a hundred bucks on that one!). And, somewhere in all of that swirl "them cats what's boppin" were set in motion.

To commemorate their 30-year run the Bopcats are performing at the Tobacco Company on both Friday and Saturday nights, Jan. 27 and 28. About the Bopcats' history and the gig Melissa Ruggieri writes in her column for the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

"Co-founder Lindy Fralin guesses the band has rotated through 'something like eight drummers and seven bass players over the years,' a thoroughly believable number for a band that has nestled in the corners of Richmond's smokiest bars for 30 years.To celebrate its longevity, several old 'cats -- as well as the current ones will set up for a pair of free concerts at The Tobacco Company this weekend, pulling out their favorite '50s and '60s covers from Elvis and Chuck Berry and indulging Fralin's wife with her requests for 'Magic Carpet Ride' and '96 Tears' -- 'stuff we haven't done in 15 years,' Fralin says."

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