Written by: Geoff Tischman

I don’t know why its taken me so long to get to the Hartford Healthcare Ampitheatre in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but seeing The Stray Cats seemed like the perfect reason to get to the relatively new venue.

Located on the bank of the Long Island Sound, the nearly 6,000 seat capacity boutique destination is decked out with steel gates, stone walls, marble bathrooms and fabulous sound.

The Stray Cats (Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom) may have been around for a few decades, but they’ve never sounded so fresh and vital.

Well-worn numbers like “Rock This Town,” “Runaway Boys” and “Stray Cat Strut” were fabulous and they sprinkled in lively and inspired covers by Tiny Bradshaw, Eddie Cochran, Johnny Burnette and Gene Vincent.

They closed the show with the power trio of “Built For Speed,” Rumble In Brighton” and Jimmy Lloyd’s “I Got A Rocket In My Pocket” which was just glorious.