I love live music. When given an option to weekend plans, I will almost always choose a band vs. a club that has a DJ or plays house music. There’s just something about live music that intensifies that urge to get on the dance floor and move.

Last weekend, I went to the Havana Club for a friend’s birthday. Now I had been there once before, and I have to say, felt very intimidated. From the outside, you wouldn’t expect the kind of atmosphere found inside. As I walked in, the number of different bars blew me away, and that was just in the front room. A friend, enthusiastically, screamed out that there were MORE rooms in the back; one having a salsa room. Yes, this buckhead club not only had a huge room with bars, private tables, and flashing lights, but it also had a salsa room and a techno room. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there were more rooms we just didn’t see. Maybe a tango room or a hip-hop room.

But, as I was saying, I prefer live music. And as fun as the salsa room could be (yes, we did venture in there for a song or two), the best thing about the Havana Club experience was the band. The Ruckus band does a great job of entertaining, but more than just that, they invite everyone onto the dance floor and seem to be having fun themselves while doing so. At first I only thought the did modern music, but as they broke out into a rock and roll

version of Tony Luc’s “Wildthing,” it was clear that their depth of music genre far exceeded my expectations.

The range of the two female singers were able to cover songs like

Usher’s “DJ Got Us Fallin” as well as Def Leppard’s ”Pour Some Sugar.” The musicians behind them were loud, rockin’, and incredibly in sync. A couple of times they would invite others to play with them. A saxophonist came up to play along to Gwen Stefani’s “Holla Back Girl.” They were so good, that during the break, when Stefani’s actual version of “Holla Back Girl” was played, no one had the desire or energy to dance.

I don’t know what it is about live music. Perhaps it’s the canned sound of a song I’ve already heard on my iPod. Perhaps it’s the energy that a performer brings onto the stage and transmits it to the audience. If you’ve seen this band, or have another favorite - let us know.