Backyard Band at Amos' Southend

A guy wearing dark glasses and holding a cigarette between two fingers ducks low and weaves through the crowd to the rhythm of Backyard Bands cowbells and congas. He stops in front of his friends, jumps around with them and then weaves through the crowd again.

This is a go-go show baby, and if you’re standing still trying to look cool or cute, then you need to go home.
Inside Amos’ guys pump their hands in the air. Women dance with men or their girlfriends. The club is crowded from front to back, but there’s plenty of room to dance and Backyard gives fans plenty of reasons to dance.

In the world of go-go, I like Chuck Brown, Rare Essence and Junk Yard Band. After watching Backyard’s two-hour performance on Saturday, I’m adding them to my list. The band features Slim Charles, who played Avon Barksdale’s bodyguard on HBO’s “The Wire.” His scratchy voice complements the other talkers in the band.

They performed their own songs, but the crowd get even more hyped when they sing go-go versions of “Show Me What You Got” and “Throw Some D’s.” A guy stops me and tells me to write in my article that go-go is underrated in Charlotte. I dap him up and promise to do so.

And speaking of Charlotte’s under appreciation of go-go will someone please buy all of the Charlotte DJs some new go-go music? I’m so tired of hearing “Scenario” and “Water Dance” every time I go to a party. Those are not the only go-go songs out there, and they’re older than dirt.