The Legwarmers Celebrate '80s at the State Theatre

The Legwarmers brought their over-the-top celebration of '80s fashion, movies and hair metal bands to the State Theatre in Falls Church this weekend for two sold-out shows.

What started as a gimmicky '80s tribute band in 2002 grew into something lead singer Matt Kelly — a.k.a. "Cru Jones" — and his bandmates never really thought possible.

"The band kind of started as a little bit of a goof, the whole presentation is kind of tongue in cheek, fake names, funny outfits and '80s covers," Kelly said reflecting on the band's rise to success. "The thought behind it was we’ll have some fun play some parties, and here we are almost nine years later and the State show is sold out. It's great."

Both the Friday and Saturday night shows at the State Theatre were sold out, perhaps an indication of the popularity of the '80s fashion and music revival occurring in our country right now. Athletes and musicians are popping up all over the place with high top fades, head bands and other '80s shtick. Look no further than Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino’s '80s style fade haircut with designs and parts reminiscent of the popular '80s high top fade haircut.

Eight members comprise the band: Jones, guitarist/lead vocals; Chet Rono, bass/vocals; Cyndi Sindee, percussion/vocals; Gordon Gartrell, guitar/vocals; Lavaar Huxtable, drums; Capt. Morgan Pondo, keyboard; Clarence McFly, tenor sax; and J.R. Pi, trumpet. 

Their shows feature songs from a number of '80s artists and groups including Poison’s "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," Madonna’s "Material Girl," and, of course, Journey’s timeless "Don’t Stop Believing."

Crowds at their shows are usually very diverse, with the majority of them showing up in traditional '80s garb.

"There's people who weren't of age, or alive when some of the songs that we're playing were being performed," said Kelly referring to the wide array of musical tastes his bands shows bring out. "We've been doing this for a little while now, and sometimes people ask if it gets old. But it's such a fun crowd that it makes it really easy to enjoy continuing on doing it because everybody there seems to be having such a good time and we have a good time doing it."

Although the March 11 and 12 shows were both sold out, The Legwarmers will return to the State Theatre for two shows scheduled for April 15 and 16.  For more on The Legwarmers, check out their website.