By: David Schultz

With Phish covering Exile On Main Street in Indio and Gov’t Mule and Jackie Greene touching on all sorts of Jagger/Richards goodness in Philadelphia, The Rolling Stones were clearly the Seventies go-to group this past Halloween. Going in a different direction, Leroy Justice looked to a tried and true favorite that unwittingly seems to reside in everyone’s record collection: The Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits. One of the more enigmatic rock stars from the Mid-Seventies, the Miller Band walked the line between true Seventies AOR and slick corporate classic rock, yet managed to endure while Poco and the Winter brothers remain obscurities.

At the legendary Bitter End in New York City’s Greenwich Village, Leroy Justice uncovered the rock pearls hidden within the Miller Band’s catalog, stripping away the superficial veneer that keeps the SMB from being revered and finding what makes their songs so durable. Clad in vintage Seventies wear, Justice offered a fun hour’s worth of covers with lead singer Jason Gallagher mining the fun to be found in “Take The Money And Run,” “Jungle Love” and the tick-tocks of “Fly Like An Eagle.”

Bustle In Your Hedgerow and RANA’s Scott Metzger found his way to the stage for the end of the Miller set and remained on for the second, trading licks with Justice’s own Brendan Cavanaugh on “Temporary Cure” and covers of The Allman Brothers’ “Whipping Post” and Zeppelin’s “The Ocean.” Factor in a measured take on “Revolution’s Son” and a robust “Last 4 Ozs.” and you have the only thing in the venue wittier and more entertaining than the guy in the audience dressed as Burt Reynolds.

Labels: Leroy Justice