The Del Fuegos/Teddy Thompson @ Racket, New York, NY 12/19/25

December 20, 2025

Bill: The Del Fuegos/Teddy Thompson

Venue: Racket, 431 W 16 St., New York, NY

Date: Friday 12/19/25

Door: $40

9pm The Del Fuegos

Active: 1980 (Boston, MA)

Latest Release: Siver Star (February Records, 2012)

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8pm Teddy Thompson

Active: 2000 (New York, NY via London, UK)

Latest Release: Live At The Rogue Folk Club (Teddy Thompson, 2025), My Love of Country (Teddy Thompson, 2023)

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The Rock 'n' Roll highway is littered with the has beens, should beens, recently reactivated and still doin' it. The Del Fuegos had their day in the major label sun in the 80's. Teddy Thompson had his prime years in the aughts. Both were known enough quantities to command a booking at the 650 capacity NYC venue Racket. Teddy Thompson noted it was where he recently saw a surprise club gig by the Rolling Stones a couple years back. He noted winkingly that they were rubbish. Combined Teddy rolling off his Brooklyn couch with an acoustic and the short run regional touring Fuegos brought around 90 people to my rough head count between sets. Dan Zanes may very well draw more people at his children gigs even though even that seems 20 years on. Warren Zanes has evolved from the Linda Ronstadt posters on his wall to a significant rock writer. Guitarist Adam Roth worked with Dennis Leary and Evan Dando, but passed in 2015 of cancer. So my initial thought was this band might make more sense at the soon to be closing Bowery Electric or Mercury Lounge paired with the Silos wasn't too far off, but I put my $40 down at the door to see a bucket list band I'd been listening to for 40 years or so but somehow never saw despite home area dominance.

That home area dominance was what made radio hits. They had a minor national one with "I Still Want You" and certainly "Backstreet Nothing" and "Don't Run Wild" were inescapable "Boston Rock" spun records on local AOR WBCN and maybe even WAAF. I certainly liked them in their heyday although I didn't pay much attention when they moved to RCA even though they had another rock radio hit in 1989 with "Move With Me Sister." This was bar rock sponsored by Miller at it's peak. To call them an active band now would be loose. Their last release was a self-released EP in 2012. Warren Zanes, the guitarist. The show itself I enjoyed. Dan's vocals sounded a little weathered, but it was fine.

I last saw Teddy Thompson on his dad's stage where he seemed a little out of sorts. Seeing him at home on stage just with an acoustic guitar a quarter century into his career seems interesting stripped of the plaudits of being the fresh new offspring when he was marketed on Virgin. Now he issues his own self pressed CD's and rolls off the couch to play locally. He was good, funny and interesting to watch on his own even if his AA anthems were a little much opening for a party rock band once sponsored by Miller. Even if those once party rockers now really are a family band themselves as pure as apple pie. That I found some of Thompson's material insufferable on some level yet still engaging enough to remember says something about the evolved talents of Teddy Thompson. His Christmas song he did was the standout. Cranky, but assured in an unsentimental way. Old the finest of coal will do for his stocking even if I doubt he has a fireplace to use it in Brooklyn.

FOR FURTHER REVIEW:

Richard Thompson @ Town Hall, New York, NY 10/18/24