GATORS GROWL

Will the Austin, Tex., spring of hot rockers ever dry up? Not if groups like the Tail Gators, which made its local debut Friday at Club Lingerie, are any indication. This “swamp rock” power trio of guitarist/singer Don Leady (ex-LeRoi Brothers), bassist Keith Ferguson (ex-Fabulous Thunderbirds) and drummer Gary (Mudcat) Smith, nearly shook the house down with a mix of swinging Texas blues and Cajun stomp, all set to a big beat.

At times it was hard to believe that this came from only three players, but the combination of Leady’s roots guitar licks and Ferguson and Smith’s rock-solid rhythms made for explosive chemistry. This stayed true even when Leady brought out his fiddle for the two-song Cajun encore.

This band isn’t much to look at--Leady could be Roger Staubach’s younger brother, and Ferguson looks like one of Tom Waits’ poorer relations. But then anybody looking wasn’t dancing, and nearly everybody was dancing.