The Small Stars returned to the scene of their last crime, The Back Porch Bar in Port Aransas. It wasn't as hot and stifling as last August, but it was close. At least there was a breeze where we were sitting. The stage was another matter. The boys were all there, of course, looking as dapper as ever, at least at the start. Did I mention it was hot and humid? By the end of the show Guy had lost his coat, his sunglasses and almost his shirt. Even the ever-cool Richard Steele had to take his coat off for the third set. Only the indefatigable Buddy Llamas managed to maintain not only his trademark coiffure, but his pristine white linen (or was it polyester?) suit. I mentioned to Buddy Llamas before the show that they should start the show with "Keno In Reno" for old times' sake. "We should," he replied enigmatically. Much to my surprise, they did exactly that. Buddy Llamas opened the show by introducing "The host with the most from the West Coast, Mr. Excitement, Mr. Spinal Alignment, Guuuuuuuuuuuy Fantasy!" I hadn't heard that classic intro in god knows how long. It sent chills up my spine. In keeping with the old-school feel, "Keno In Reno" was followed, of course, by "Two Girls Are Better Than One." Crowd favorites "True Hollywood Story" and "Boogie Stop Shuffle" came next, and the patrons at The Back Porch Bar were loving it. The first set closed out in rocking fashion with "Sweet Sweet Sweet" and the seldom heard "Vehicle" by The Ides Of March. After a much needed break, the band came back on to do a set of songs about alcohol, gambling and drugs. Typical Small Stars fare, that is. The highlight was a great rendition of The Kinks' "Alcohol" featuring Guy staggering around the stage and collapsing to the floor in a mock drunken stupor. Good times. Someone from the audience requested "Tequila" and offered to pay $4 for it. Guy accepted it, of course. Hey, $4 is $4. By the third set, of course, all bets were off. Buddy Llamas started out by auctioning off the LAST Small Stars T-Shirt, ever. Guy took over as the T-shirt auction morphed into "We Love You." There was lots more banter from Guy Fantasy by this time, including impersonations of Elvis and Joel Osteen. He tried to end the show with "Don't Keep 'Em Waiting" but the crowd would have none of that, demanding one more song. The show ended, as it had started, with a return to The Small Stars roots, with "The Small Stars Theme," including, of course, all the hilarious band introductions. (By the way, I would totally vote for an Obama-Llamas ticket.) As Guy said above, we all had a wonderful time. That should come as no surprise, as all Small Stars shows are lots of fun. But this one, of course, was special. To start with, we hadn't heard these guys in like 10 months. To be honest, I was a bit concerned about how they would sound after such a long time. I mean, in NBA Basketball, when a team has a four or five day layoff, they always come out cold and tentative. As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. The Small Stars come out smoking right from the get-go. They were hot, and not just because of the sultry Gulf Coast summer weather. Admittedly, they were a bit rough around the edges, and did get a bit sloppier toward the end of the evening, but then we were all a bit sloppy by then. It was a bittersweet end to the evening. It was wonderful to see the band again, and to once more get to hang out with Small Stars fans, old and new. On the other hand, there was a sense of finality to the show. We were all left wondering, will there be another one? Fear and Loathing in Port Aransas texasyesfan 2008-06-29 17:27:24 2008-06-29 17:27:24 4 1 4.00