In Da Club: Chooglin' at the Triple Rock

The word "Chooglin'" sounds like an onomatopoeia for beer guzzling or trains chugging. It's actually a Creedence Clearwater Revival term for partying and fornicating, as laid out in the classic, "Keep on Chooglin'"--"You got to ball and have a good time/And that's what I call chooglin'." What's also called Chooglin' is a new local band that debuted last Friday night at the Triple Rock. The CCR reference was probably lost on the majority of the twenty-to-thirtysomethings at the show, but judging by how quickly and early the bar filled up, many did know that the opening band featured two former members of the now defunct Midnight Evils, guitarist/singer Brian Vanderwerf and drummer Jesse Tomlinson, who now plays a Telecaster and occasionally flips off assholes in the crowd. Chooglin' the band is a good time, emphasis on beer and a classic rock sound; their standout, Shawn Walker, also drummer for the Fuck Yeahs, channels Keith Moon through his manic drum fills. The crowd thinned for the middle act, Reigning Sound, and gathered again for the headliners, R&B-garage-rock cover band the Detroit Cobras. But either due to the band's more sedate take on rock or because the crowd was all choogled out, the stage never did regain the evening's earlier verve.