The Hot Sh*t All-Stars are an interesting side project of Blues-Rock singer Jimmy Kunes, bassist Greg Smith, guitarist Angus Clark and keyboardist Paul Morris. They perform Deep Purple covers and this evening we would catch them delivering that classic album from the band “Burn”. The show took place at Arlene’s Grocery and should you want to learn more just scroll down a little bit.

Artist: Hot Sh*t All-Stars
Venue: Arlene’s Grocery (New York, NY)
Opener: Megan McCauley
Date: 3/11/2008
Label: Independent Artist

After catching a couple of interesting shows done by Grave Digger and Wednesday 13 over the last few weeks I felt that I would change the normal way of doing things by hitting an appearance that Jimmy Kunes would be doing over at Arlene’s Grocery this evening. Kunes is known to many as being the blues-based soulful vocals of the reunited Cactus, a band that was referred to as the American Led Zeppelin and one of the earliest super groups based on their featuring the talents of Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice. We’ve covered the bands appearances and recent releases to some extent on PiercingMetal.com so feel free to search around for them at your convenience. Tonight’s gig would find Jimmy fronting a group he called “The Hot Sh*t All-Stars” and it was a super group in its own right based on its membership. On guitar would be Angus Clark (from Trans-Siberian Orchestra West Coast), Greg Smith on bass (Joe Lynn Turner, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Ted Nugent and far too many more to mention in this space), and Paul Morris on keyboards (Doro Pesch, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, Chris Caffery). Sadly I would not catch the drummer’s name and for that I apologize.

I love when gigs happen at Arlene’s Grocery because much like the Ace Of Clubs, it’s the kind of place where for only a few dollars you can enjoy a handful of bands that you are bound to find something interesting in no matter what your preferences are. The HSAS would be delivering a set of classic Deep Purple tonight and primarily focus on the album “Burn”. For those who are in need of a reference about the release, it is one that does not feature Ian Gillan but instead has David Coverdale belting them out and is one of the most popular recordings in the bands catalog. If you don’t own a copy of this, you should definitely consider adding it to your collection sometime in the not too distant future. The guys were tight as a unit of musicians and that was no surprise given their continually working along side may legendary players as well as being very known in their own right. They would start the album “Burn” from its beginning and deliver it in order from beginning to almost end. I say “almost” because based on the set time being restricted to just under an hour and the band not getting started right on the dot, we would find both “What’s Going On Here” and “Coronaria Redig” omitted from the albums presentation. Of course I was not 100% certain that these were supposed to be played tonight in the first place considering they were not written on the set list sheets that the band had in front of them. I wouldn’t complain of course because the guys would deliver a rousing version of “Highway Star” as their closer, and while this particular Deep Purple track comes from “Machine Head” and not “Burn” there was hardly anyone in the room that would argue since its an incredible song in the first place. The guys did it well and I had anticipated this based on how good the whole show had been tonight. Greg would offer up some backing and lead vocals from time to time while it seemed as though Angus would stick to the guitar and the occasional backup. Kunes has a very different voice from Coverdale, but I had to say that he did the material justice and that is a testimony to his abilities as a singer.

Fun projects like this are a good time to be a part of it is clear to see and after the set the guys had posters for their friends and fans to take, gladly signing them or posting for photos with anyone who had requested that of them. Be sure to read the calendar listings of clubs like Arlene’s Grocery to see when other events like this are taking place because in NYC in this economy you cannot go wrong for an evening’s worth of entertainment for such a reasonable price.

Set List:
1. Burn
2. Might Just Take Your Life
3. Lay Down, Stay Down
4. Sail Away
5. You Fool No One
6. Mistreated
7. A “200”
8. Highway Star

Official Website: www.myspace.com/jimmykunes