The last night of the three-week tour was definitely a memorable one. Closing out the tour at the birthplace of the New York punk scene and with a very special guest from the Queers' colorful past, along with great sets from supporters Teen Idols and Armstrong, made for a great night in classic punk style.

First up was the Downbeat 5, a quartet that performed hard-rocking tunes with tough, confident female vocals supplied by Jen Rassler. Playing cuts off their s/t full-length release that falls just outside the hard-edged pop/punk genre represented by the other bands on the bill, they were happy the crowd, although rather meager this early on, was into their punchy rock/late '70s punk sound as evinced on solid tunes like "My Way."

The next band, Armstrong, a raucous three-piece out of Texas featuring former Hagfish alumni Zach Blair on guitar and vocals, Tobe Bean on bass, and Mark Baker on drums, played with enough energy and enthusiasm to fill the night's quota. Playing aggressively fast and infectious songs like "The Pattern" and "Sink or Swim" off their 2002 debut album Dick, The Lionhearted, they had the crowd on their feet. Armstrong's set was just plain fun - the way punk music should be.

In any case, Nashville, TN's Teen Idols put on a spirited set as well. Right from the opener, "Pucker Up" off the album of the same name, fast-paced melodic pop/punk coupled with rich vocal harmonies from lead vocalist Keith, guitarist Phillip, and bassist Heather was the norm. Their sound is a mix of pop/pogo/punk, as evidenced on a new offering entitled "Nothing to Prove," and "Backstabber," a cut from their latest split release with Squirtgun, as well as on such mainstays as "Porno Shop," "Peanut Butter Girl," and "1989," a song the kids really got into, all off their 1997 s/t LP. They also performed songs off their last full-length, Full Leather Jacket, including "Midnight Picture Show." They polished off their effervescent set with "Anybody Else," a song in which Heather showcases her sweet-sounding vocals with sporadic solos. The male/female vocal mix definitely adds to the band's dynamism.

When everyone was expecting the Queers to come up next, on came Staten Island's Goin' Places - the band that had opened the first show of the tour at the beginning of February. I said it then and I'll say it again, the band plays catchy, upbeat pop/punk that screams: "We want to be Screeching Weasel." It's one thing to be influenced by a band (Screeching Weasel is, after all, one of the best bands of all-time) and to play some covers, which they did in the form of "Guest List," but the singer tries way too hard to sound like Ben Weasel, what with all his "whoa-oh"s. In fact, on one particularly disturbing song, the majority of the lyrics seems to be those syllables. See, incorporating elements from a band and sounding like a (not-so-good) carbon copy are two different things. If this band would focus more on defining their own sound, they would be much better. However, to their credit, the band's sincere ode to the Ramones is an extremely welcome tribute to the band that started it all right here at CBs.

And so, it was time for the Queers to hit the stage. I was interested in what their set would sound like and what songs would be included, as frontman Joe Queer had said after the first gig of the tour that the set-list was still not finalized or perfected. Well, I had thought it sounded good then, but on this, the final show, the band did sound tighter and played some different songs as well, which was nice. But what I still find interesting, and quite frankly amazing, is that the aforementioned Phillip of the Teen Idols also played guitar during the Queers set. Although he did have a break tonight because of the inclusion of Goin' Places, it's basically two sets in a row at every show! And believe you me, the Queers play a whole slew of songs at rapid-fire tempos with little break in between - the songs usually just segue right into each other. Let's just say it's an impressive feat.

Ok, well that was my tribute to Phillip.

The Queers kicked things off right with "Night of the Livid Queers" once again, a hard-core punk-as-hell song. And as always, they played a majority of the songs off their now-classic 1993 release Love Songs for the Retarded, including "I Can't Stand You," "I Hate Everything," the sweet (despite the seemingly crass title) "Ursula Finally Has Tits," and "Fuck This World," as well as "Noodlebrain," and "Granola-head," two songs that conjure up the cartoon-like Ramones songs like "Pin Head." On the same note, they played "Blabbermouth," their rendition of "Loudmouth." And like the Ramones, the Queers can take a break from the humor and play some tender love songs, as in "Punk Rock Girls," a song that exemplifies their Beach Boys-meets-punk bubble gum sound, "Janelle Janelle," a great song I might add off of 1996's Don't Back Down, and a cover of Screeching Weasel's endearing "Parasite." They also played another Weasel tune, "Murder in the Brady House," and other originals they don't play that often, which Joe claimed they didn't know how to play, including "Goodbye California" and "Don't Back Down." And, of course we got a taste of some songs off their latest record Pleasant Screams like "See You Later Fuck Face" and "Get a Life and Live It."

However, what made the night truly memorable in this reviewer's mind was the "special guest" at the end. Yes, the legendary Wimpy came on stage to perform part of the Queers' old set circa 1983! This is the man who fronted the band in the early Eighties, as can be experienced on the Queers compilation of early material entitled A Day Late and a Dollar Short - essential stuff. To see Joe and Wimpy playing all the hard-core numbers without a trace of the bubble gum pop/punk mixture Joe has since embraced was a trip, a real window into the past - please excuse my slobbering - well, it was just too much to handle! I'm still recovering, trying to wipe this big, stupid grin off my face.

From Wimpy's timeless intro: "We are the Queers…" in his psychotic, seething, punk voice, to the blistering run through such classics as "We'd Have a Riot Doing Heroin," "Tulu is a Wimp," "I'm Useless," "Kicked Out of the Webelos," and finally "I Like Young Girls," one right into the other without a hitch, it was a thing of beauty. This is one show I will never forget. And to all you scratching your heads appalled, if you didn't already get that their songs are funny and tongue-in-cheek, poking fun at themselves and the world, piss off. Rock 'n' Roll is supposed to be FUN! The Queers know it and so should you.