Greg Kihn Band kicked off the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk summer concert series with two sets on Friday night. The band was in excellent form with Greg Kihn on vocals and rhythm guitar, his son Rye on lead, Dennis Murphy filling in on bass and Double D on drums. The sound was tighter than usual, though I'm not sure if its from more rehearsing or less!
The set included classic GKB hits like "Hurt Myself", "Talk About It", "Remember", "Jeapordy" and "Breakup Song." There were also a few cover songs including the Yardbirds' "Ain't Got You" and, oddly enough, Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams."
Rye Kihn is the band's secret weapon giving the band an edgier, more modern sound. He cut loose on the solo in the "Breakup Song" and completely won over the audience. Rye learned guitar at the hands of GKB alum Joe Satriani and then studied at the Guitar Institute of Technology. At some point, Rye's got to step out of the shadows though and develop his own material. (Rye also plays in Big Fun.)
If you're in the area, head on down to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to check out some of the other Friday night concerts including Colin Hay (Men at Work), Eddie Money, Family Stone Experience, Micky Dolenz (The Monkees), The Drifters and others.
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