Dexter and the Moonrocks bring chaotic energy and heavy music to Syracuse

On Saturday, Nov. 9, Dexter and the Moonrocks, the fathers of Western space grunge, took to the Westcott Theater Stage in Syracuse, NY.

Fans flooded the venue as grunge and alternative rock from the ’90s and ‘00s created the atmosphere for the night to come. From rancher hats and cowboy boots to flannels and chains, the crowd was dressed for the fusion-genre bands. 

Opening for Dexter and the Moonrocks was Red Leather. The band immediately had a mysterious energy as they took the stage. With the guitarist in a bandana up to his nose, the drummer in a matching bandana, and the lead singer wearing a ski mask and a red fringe cowboy hat, the crowd was drawn into their Orville Peck-like style. 

Photo by Jenna Sents

Red Leather performs “WALK AWAY” in his signature red fringe cowboy hat.

Red Leather brought a sound of bluesy riffs and a deep, punchy bass, making listeners wonder whether they were in the middle of the desert or being taken to hell with the desolate torture in the singer’s voice.

After playing songs like “SINS” “THE ONLY TIME IT RAINS IN HOLLYWOOD” and “GET OUT OF MY HEAD,” Red Leather brought the energy of the room to a high for Dexter and the Moonrocks.

Between sets, a roadie of the band came on stage with a box of Cheez-Its and got the crowd to chant the brand’s name until the band ran out on stage to a crowd screaming for a square orange cracker. During their set, James Tuffs, the lead singer of Dexter and the Moonrocks threw the Cheez-Its box into the crowd and everyone passed it around to share the crackers.

In a teal haze, Dexter and the Moonrocks sang about drug addiction and death with sedated vocals and a distorted twangy guitar. With psychedelic solos, the guitarist hypnotized the crowd with interludes throughout the set on his black guitar with rainbow speckles resembling outer space.

Photo by Jenna Sents

Dexter and the Moonrocks lead singer James Tuffs gets lost in “Behave.”

The band played songs including “Sad in Carolina,” “Outta Luck,” a grunge cover of “Kate McCannon,” and two new songs “Say I” and “Ritalin.”

From the sounds of the high-pitched, clean guitar of midwest emo to a deep distorted Nirvana-like noise to bluesy counter-culture music with twangy vocal fry, Dexter and the Moonrocks’ sound can draw in fans from all ends of the rock music spectrum.

Once the concert was over and Dexter and the Moonrocks stepped off stage, fans left the show with new t-shirts, albums in their hands and smiles on their faces, eager for the next time they could see the Western space grunge band tear up the stage.