Better Than: LSD

…Hawks of Paradise, lead by former Hawks and Doves frontman James Yardley, played its debut gig. Quite a few people, including a lot of local musicians, showed up early to catch the maiden voyage of a band that has apparently already created a bit of a buzz. The band’s MySpace page offered little insight into appropriate expectations, but I have to give the band kudos for having video clips of Jack Keroauc reading from On the Road and a scene from Two-Lane Blacktop, which starred James Taylor, the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson and the great Warren Oates. And when band kicked off an impressive set with a fuzzed-up cut steeped in the jingle-jangle of the Yardbirds, it was obvious the Hawks folks were fans of ’60s reverb-drenched psych pop.