The Great Bitter End: Where Soundgarden Meets John Lennon Meets the Ohio Players

At 11:00 pm on a Friday night, smack in the middle of Salcedo’s Latin Soul’s vicious set, tenor saxophonist and band leader Steve Salcedo told the crowd he had a special announcement. He was now calling “John Lennon” to the stage. Suddenly, a slender young man wearing a black mod-style jacket, with bleached blonde hair and oval glasses emerged, as the band kicked into this groovy “funkilicious” version of Lennon’s circa 1964 early Beatles pop classic “You Can’t Do That.” That young man was Zach Jones, the leader and singing drummer of his eponymous pop band Zach Jones and the Tricky Bits, who had just finished performing a lively set before Salcedo at the Bitter End located on Bleecker Street in the Village on Friday, November 17. In 2022, Jones, as a drummer, embarked on a World Tour with Sting. What I liked most about the Tricky Bits’ sound was Zach’s anachronistic pop-infused voice, which reminded me of one of my favorite singer-songwriter’s Glenn Tilbrook from Squeeze. It had a natural “smooth melodic yet slightly nasal” quality to it that was quite infectious, immediately lending itself to that hallmark early 60s Lennon-sound. Zach and Steve had been collaborating all night long, with Steve first playing sax on the Tricky Bits opening number “Plastic Soul”. Besides Steve sharing a fun tongue-in-cheek moment with the audience, it only felt natural for him to call Zach to the stage, where “Lennon” sounded quite like the real Lennon. When Steve later broke into this raucous rompin’ and rockin’ solo, followed by the trombone player doing his thing, it simply sealed the deal, taking it up several notches!

The Bitter End: 
The Oldest Rock Club in NYC

There aren’t many live clubs around where you can see such a diverse lineup of great talent on any given night. The Bitter End, which prides itself as being “New York City’s Oldest Rock Club” continues to be a beacon of light in Greenwich Village for emerging band talent. The club has been around as long as I can remember (in reality actually since the 1960s), and it has survived beyond so many of the other “Village rock clubs” I would often visit in my youth. It’s outlasted its most popular neighbors, the now long defunct clubs such as the Rock ‘n Roll Café, Kenny’s Castaways, and the Back Fence. Gentrification has not even gotten to it. And over the years, many famous performers have played here. The Bitter End is a true survivor. When I asked Tony, the friendly guy manning the door, if having so many bands every night with different musical styles was normal, he told me, “Absolutely, the Bitter End is known for doing this.” However, what I noticed most about this night, was the great camaraderie between all three of these bands, even though they all possess very divergent musical styles.

Three Bands: Spanning Genres from Pop Grunge to Fusion

When I first arrived, San Antonio’s own power pop foursome Ready Revolution, led by brothers Diego and Emilio Navaira Jr, was already rockin’ the stage. I would describe their look and sound as a cross between T-Rex and Soundgarden. Lead front man Diego Navaira definitely has a Chris Cornell-thing going with his vocals. Sonically and rhythmically, Ready Revolution’s driving guitars brought to mind the best 90s grunge bands with a melodic crunch, laid over with some pretty vocal harmonies. Definitely one of the reasons I was so drawn to them. Diego wore his worn-out vintage electric guitar hung low like some bad-ass gunslinger while commanding a dope stage presence. Emilio was bashing the drums heavily driving the rhythm locked in with the bass, while both guitars played heavy melodic lines. Their final song “Odessa” personified this perfectly with its opening high catchy melodic riff played by Diego, the second guitar playing the lower line in counterpoint, and Emilio’s heavy drums driving the bus. In contrast, the second band Zach Jones and the Tricky Bits had a more electric pop-folksy sound. With their main lineup of electric and acoustic guitars, bass and drums, I really enjoyed songs like “Mushroom Suit,” “I See Stars,” and Zach’s vocals.

Shake Those Hips!

However the lynchpin and crowd favorite of the night was undoubtedly the third band Salcedo’s Latin Soul. This ten-piece band of incredible musicians absolutely were the alpha dominators that smoked this crowd, who were mostly up on their feet the entire set! Steve Salcedo is not only an amazing tenor saxophonist, he is a great band leader and entertainer. Every musician on that stage was great, but their 3x Grammy-nominated keyboardist, Axel Tosca, was a high standout for me. Don’t be misled by their name, this is no standard salsa or soul band, it is so much more. Sure as the name states, their tight horns and grooves brought to mind the Ohio Players. But their musical versatility was off the chain! What I loved most about Salcedo’s Latin Soul was how they could go from straight salsa, to a pop tune, then break into wild explorations in jazz fusion. Axel’s improvisations were integral to that massive fusion sound. Check out my interview with Steve Salcedo on YouTube, where he discusses in-depth his musical approach as a band leader, musician, and as an educator. This band absolutely smoked the crowd their entire set. I can’t wait to see them again! Link to the Village View article:  https://villageview.nyc/2023/12/07/the-great-bitter-end/ Kaju Roberto is an accomplished musician, singer/ songwriter, journalist, and an award-winning producer. He is the artist Rad Jet on Spotify. https://open.spotify.com/artist/32si7c4nk210HPuqbXvhJg