Austin's Black Joe Lewis and the Honey Bears are one fun band to see play. We saw them at SXSW and the packed crowd was dancing along and smiling so enthusiastically, you would have thought the indie snark movement was all but dead.

Led by the highly engaging front man Joe Lewis and a whole slew of supporting horn players, this music is big-band soul with a dose of rockabilly and a steady diet of the blues. I wouldn't even know what contemporary bands to compare them to, other than to say there's really no comparison. James Brown definitely comes to mind, but they've got a ways to go before we can officially start calling them godfathers.

Joe Lewis' recorded songs are pretty good, but really this is a band that's best from the stage. Lewis tells crazy stories and his horn players synchronize their movements in time with his croons and their own boozy beats. Start with the song "Bitch, I love you." Now that's poetry. br>
BUY TICKETS TO SEE BLACK JOE LEWIS AND THE HONEYBEARS AT ALEX'S BAR!

BUY TICKETS TO SEE BLACK JOE LEWIS AND THE HONEYBEARS AT THE TROUBADOUR!

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears play Alex's Bar, on Thursday, May 14th, and the Troubadour, on Friday, May 15th.