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Back Door Slam

So you decided to dress up as vintage W. Axl Rose, Flavor Flav or maybe MC5’s Rob Tyner complete with a giant afro. You need somewhere special to wear your costume this All Hallowed Eve? Maybe Mohawk Place is not a bad stop. It’s normally the first stop for the Queen City’s rock enthusiasts anyway, so it’s a natural on the most rock and roll holiday. The venerable downtown music club just happens to be hosting a heck of a show that night, to boot. Direct from the Isle of Man—the tiny, self-governing Celtic stronghold clustered in the British Isles—comes Back Door Slam, a power trio with no member over 21 years that is making a lot of noise on stage and off. Earlier this year, Seattle Time writer Patrick McDonald said hearing them was like hearing “the spirit of Jimi Hendrix.” That’s no mistake. Davy Knowles, the band’s 20-year-old guitarist, singer and principal songwriter says they draw heavily from Hendrix and British blues guitarists like Peter Green, John Mayall, Rory Gallagher and Eric Clapton. Back Door Slam’s version of Blind Joe Reynolds’ “Outside Woman Blues” is worthy of the version popularized by Clapton and Cream on Disraeli Gears. Support on this Halloween show comes from two of Buffalo’s bands who can alchemistically meld rock, garage-psych and a touch of the blues: Chylde and the Found.

Wednesday, October 31 at 8pm. Mohawk Place, 47 E Mohawk St. (855-3931). $10.