Some belated thoughts on ’70s Under Cover night at the Bluebird

-I think covers have an unfair reputation in much of the DIY, indie music world. Playing a few choice covers to show the audience where you’re coming from doesn’t put you on the same level as the dueling piano bar that plays nothing but Billy Joel requests from drunken bachelorettes all night in the guido district of town.

-Case in point: The Blind Eyes’ original material is the sort of smart, taut guitar pop perfected decades ago by the likes of Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello & The Attractions, so it was no surprise that they decided to devote themselves to the very best of the spectacled one’s 1970s output, from a spot on cover of “Welcome to the Working Week” to a heavily modified adaptation of “Watching the Detectives.” I was listening to a lot of early Costello in anticipation of this night, and they didn’t disappoint.

-Their set-closing Costello cover of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding,” which is itself a cover of a Lowe song (which probably wasn’t meant to be so meta), was one of the definite highlights of the evening.

-Jon Hardy & The Public did not do a Springsteen tribute set. Thank God. The fact that they chose to cover Randy Newman instead made my respect for them grow tenfold. I think it was a great choice for them not only because it was unexpected, but because Newman is a songwriter’s songwriter whose songs usually sound better when sung by another singer. (There’s a reason why Nilsson Sings Newman is my favorite Newman album, after all.) And these songs sounded great Hardified, especially when Jon was handling the more sincere tracks such as “Feels Like Home.”

-Nitpicking: I realize “Short People” is one of Randy Newman’s biggest hits, but if you’re only going to pick one bitingly satirical song I thought it would have been more topical to cover something like “Political Science” or “Rednecks,” but I guess I can understand why Hardy wouldn’t want to get in front of a crowd and drop the N-bomb repeatedly, even if it was tongue-in-cheek.

-The Dock Ellis Band’s cover set of Alice Cooper was insane. The fact that Alice Cooper has maybe four good songs in his entire catalogue didn’t slow them down, either. They’re essentially a country band and they country-fried Cooper’s songs, turning hits like “I’m 18″ into something about driving an 18-wheeler and talking smack on the CB.

-Watching singer Jessie Irwin strut out on stage with a black wig, face painted, and a gigantic live snake wrapped around his neck to sing “No More Mr. Nice Guy” was one of the single most awesome moments in recent concert memory. I wish I had taken my camera. Thankfully, someone at A to Z did.

-Watching Irwin haul out a ceiling high, homemade guillotine to decapitate plastic baby dolls, fruit cakes, and watermelons throughout the rest of the set was even more awesome.

-Watching Irwin pull a cucumber out of his leather pants, while not quite as awesome as the live snake or guillotine, was still applause-worthy.

-I felt bad for LOGOS, who had to go on next. Not only was the Dock Ellis Band a tough act to follow, they had to play their set ankle-deep in watermelon and cucumber chunks.

-You can always tell when a band is about to play a prog-heavy set if the drummer has to wear fancy headphones. They were covering Rush.

-Those kids were fucking young. Like, 18 young. And they’re ridiculously talented. I’ve squandered my youth.

-I don’t really listen to Rush, but it occurred to me that if I did, I’d probably have to become either a huge stoner, a computer programmer, or both.

-They closed the night with a cover of “Crossroads.” Not Rush. Not ’70s. Still good.

-I can’t wait until ’80s night on Friday. From what I’ve heard, here’s the shakedown:

Sheesh. What a lineup. I just hope the Bureau don’t show up in matching Pierrot costumes to cover “Ashes to Ashes,” because if they’re in Pierrot costumes and I’m in my Pierrot costume, believe me, it’s going to be awkward.