Rock out with your sock out

Some performers are rock stars. Others have to act like rock stars. The rest serve as evocations of rock stars.

The whole spectrum was represented Sunday night at The Buffalo Icon.

Playing to a large crowd, Hot Hot Heat, with supporting acts Electric Eel Shock and local act The Frame Up kept the crowd exuberant.

Local Buffalo act The Frame Up was full of self-assurance. They cite as influences - get this - everything from The Beatles to Guns and Roses.

Their 1970s Led Zeppelin-influenced rock and blues sound was powerful enough to make the crowd take notice. Complemented by three guitarists on stage, Joe Orlando, Matt Puerts and Nikki Georgia, the group created a wall of sound, electrifying the funky vocals of lead singer Joe Folmar.

Folmar was an impressive showman, picking up the drumsticks for one song, playing a brutal drumbeat in rapid succession. He then went on to pick up a tambourine, smiling.

"I can't promise there won't be tambourine on the album. It has a mind of its own." He acted as if he were possessed by the spirit of Robert Plant with his powerful voice and strong stage presence.

Next Electric Eel Shock took the stage, a heavy metal band from Tokyo. The Afro-haired lead singer Akihito Morimoto and bassist Kazuto Maekawa provided rock posturing that would make Spinal Tap proud.

Drummer Tomoharu "Gian" Ito took the stage wearing only a single sock.

It wasn't on a foot.

The shocking and humorous elements of their live show are precisely what made it so exciting.

They played songs like "I Cannot Hear Sex Noise" and "Give Me Suicide Rock and Roll," in which Morimoto continuously repeated the title against a heavy metal riff. The crowd clearly loved Electric Eel Shock's theatrics, and the group played with bravado and a sense of confidence all their own.

Underneath only two blue lights, Hot Hot Heat took the stage. They started off strong with a song with a deep synth line, "Talk To Me, Dance With Me" from their 2002 album "Make Up The Breakdown."

"It's a Sunday night, I wasn't sure if anyone was going to come out," said lead singer Steve Bays. But come they did, in droves, cheering and dancing to Hot Hot Heat's angular, dance-influenced indie-pop.

Two years ago, roughly a year after the release of "Make Up the Breakdown," Hot Hot Heat was a shy, unassuming group of kids.

Now, they wear Don Johnson apparel and make only the most superficial observations of the town they're playing, like the fact that Buffalo is close in proximity to Canada.

They had collective rock star look completed by Steve Bays's large hair, and bassist Dustin Hawthorne's neck scarf. They proceeded to play the new single, "Goodnight, Goodnight" from their new album "Elevator" due out in April. With its catchy chorus, the song still retained the trademark danceable rhythm to which the crowd responded unreservedly.

They played some other new tracks, "Dirty Mouth," "Ladies and Gentlemen," and "Pickin' it up," which Bays described as "a party song."

"Pickin' It Up" was a departure for fans. The tune felt like a rock anthem that wouldn't be foreign to Andrew W.K. Gone were the dance elements, and in their place, a catchy chorus and pulsating guitar rhythm. They played many favorites from "Make Up The Breakdown" including "Oh, Godamnit," "Get In or Get Out," "Naked in the City Again" and closed with the single "Bandages."

Steve Bays acted the part of shining rock star, pointing his microphone towards the audience, and letting them fill in the chorus.

After playing the new track "Running Out of Time" as an encore, Steve Bays closed by saying, "Thank you. I love Buffalo."

From the looks of things, the feeling was mutual.