Right Now?
One of the more intriguing releases this month is Dangerous Game, the solo debut from The Shangri-Las' lead singer Mary Weiss.
Yeah, those Shangri-Las. The wounded women behind "Leader of the Pack" and "Out in the Streets." The singers - two pairs of teen sisters from Queens, Mary and Betty Weiss, twins Marge and Mary Ann Ganser - broke up in 1968 (there were one-off reunions at CBGB's in 1977 and at a Cousin Brucie Palisades Park show in 1989); both Gansers have since passed on.
Game features 13 new songs (the gaggle of writers includes Jackie DeShannon and The Dictators' Andy Shernoff); The Reigning Sound serves as her backing band. I'm still waiting for my copy - you can order it directly from Norton Records (Screw Norton Records. Completely unreliable. I've yet to get mine though they've said the album's been available for weeks, accepted payment, stopped answering e-mails.) - but there are songs streaming on Weiss' and The RS' myspaces and an additional track at I Rock Cleveland.
Weiss and the RS played a record release gig in Cleveland last week (YouTube clips below); their only other scheduled show's the Norton Records SXSW Showcase (3/15 at Red 7, with the reformed Alarm Clocks!). But they're playing Conan O'Brien on March 13th [UPDATE: Video is here]... and the Reigning Sound has a show booked at Southpaw TONIGHT ($10 tix here). What's the over/under on a Weiss appearance?
From the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, OH, 3/03/07:
"Don't Come Back"
"Break it for Me"