STEVE DUNKELBERGER: HIGH ENERGY PUNKED >>>

Last night, there was sadness, a sadder Count, neo-punk banshees and a wacky drummer.

It started with a goodbye. Last night marked the closing dinner of Seven Oh One. I toasted its demise with a great friend over goat cheese pasta and black bean chorizo soup. I wish the best of luck to Patti in her future endeavors.

We raced over to Jazzbones to catch Jimmy Thackery blend blues and rock before a crowd that could hang with my parents.

My Jazzbones highlight was watching some dude arrive dressed as the Count from Sesame Street. If he counted those dressed in costume, it would be one. Apparently the Halloween party his friends told him to dress for didn’t exist. Damn, that mo-fo vamp got punked.

Still laughing, I headed south to Bob's Java Jive to catch the old-school rock-turned punk sounds of the Dignitaries, then parlaying the excellent music into another winner with You Yell You Kick’s late set. Neo-punk banshee filled the coffee pot.

On my way home I stopped by the Fan Club in Lakewood for a high-energy walk through the history of rock and roll with Igneous Rocks. Wow, I dug them â€" even though drummer Sean Peterson is one of my Mafia members on Facebook. Igneous Rocks plays the Fan Club again tonight. I highly recommend this show.

LINK: More photos on Steve Dunkelberger's MySpace site