MOTOWN GET DOWN How far ahead of the curve and cutting edge are the Alternative Champs, the local scamps who’ve been entertaining the region for years with their brand of :we mean business” rock ’n’ roll? Well, you may just be discovering the fundamental fabulousness of trad soul music, along with all the other bearded Daptone and Truth & Soul hipsterati, but Mike Mitschele, Rick Randall, Brent Dunn, Dave Massi and John Morris have been on this tip for decades. Take their huge would-be radio hit “Swimmin’ In the Pool,” from their 2005 multi-aluminum seller Welcome to Fort Awesome — a song with which these soul bros stencilled their name in various music history books at the library next to the legendary acts like the Funk Brothers and Booker T. & the MGs. Some even speculate that it was the overwhelming popularity of that song that forced band members to adopt various rock star guises just to keep some semblance of a private life — though in typical kooky fashion, they got it backwards and did it on stage instead. The band’s notorious effect on audiences — mostly the ladies, though not exclusively — rivals that of a James Brown-Tom Jones-Marvin Gaye clothes-off. Point being, get your bell-bottom pimp pants and platform shoes ready for a night of deep catalog R&B.

John Schacht

Price: $5