Girls just wanna have fun...

And boys too....Soooooooo pretty much everybody as was the case when The Flying Garter finally had the chance to check out Friend Zone at Bar A in Belmar recently. We were eager to see this high-energy band after checking them out on social media. Frontwoman Kate leads this high-energy rocking band (with a horn section) covering hits that span the decades from classic rock to 90s jams to current hits.

As most Fridays and Saturdays at Bar A go, there is usually an earlier band followed by another band around 10pm. This night was no exception. The evening started with one of our favorite classic and hard rock cover bands, Illegally Blind. The earlier bands tend to draw an older crowd because hey - I'm 50 and starting the night at 10pm is getting harder and harder! The later the band starts, the crowd tends to be a little younger but there is always this transition. Friend Zone handled that transition perfectly. Their first set list was spot on for the mixed crowd. They covered such songs and artists including:

• Feels Like the First Time

• I Was Made for Loving You - KISS

• Beverly Hills - Weezer

• I love rock n roll - Joan Jett

• Stacey's Mom

• Jesse's Girl

• The Outfield

• Dancing with Myself

• I wanna dance with somebody - Whitney (last name not necessary)

• And of course, Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want to Have Fun

The mixed demographic was loving it! As the night went on, you can see my people, i.e. the "older" crowd, start to fade and the 20-somethings file in. That's when Friend Zone starting busting out some newer pop hits and artists like Pitbull, Shakira, Kesha, Despactio and the wildly popular PINK PONY CLUB (the girls went cray cray).

But wait - something amazing happened later in the set list. They mixed current hits with some older stuff. We heard:

• Tequila

• 9 to 5

• Footloose

• Grease medley

But the song that stood out for me because A. no one ever covers it and B. the younger crowd TOTALLY embraced it was Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing. I was blown away by the crowd's reaction. I turned to Jtweets, looked at the sea of 20-somethings and said these kids were raised right.

Fist pumps / high fives / snaps to Friend Zone for touching on multiple genres of some of the greatest hits over the last 50+ years. The versatility and talent was spot on. If you are looking for some music to get your feet grooving while singing along to your fav classic pop hits - Friend Zone is your answer!

Bonus: Kaitlyn and Dave from the band often perform a duo act too! Check their website and socials for full calendar.