I’ll put it out there: I don’t like cover bands. Call me a cranky cynic (don’t screw up a good thing) or an elitist Emersonain (Imitation is Suicide), I just like my rock on the rocks, no mixer, thankyouverymuch.

So imagine my surprise, while tagging along on a friend’s bar-hopping birthday binge through White Plains on Friday eve, to be lured into Lazy Lounge by none other than a well-disguised CB. I tell you fellow cynical elitists—I didn’t know, I swear! Tangled Vine just sounded so damn good from the sidewalk, I had to hear more. Before I knew what’d hit me (as DD, I can’t blame the firewater), I was both dancing … and singing (for shame!) to “Sweet Home Alabama”—sans Lynyrd Skynyrd.

“What happened last night?” I asked myself Saturday morning, nursing my hungover pride. I had drunk from the fruit of Tangled Vine, and here’s why it was so irresistible:

Killer bass licks. So many classic rock bassists are/were undervalued wallflowers with potential. How refreshing it was to watch someone play the bass like it should have been played all along: like a rock star. Tangled Vine’s Kevin Totoian riffs like a guitarist and grooves like a bassman. I watched in awe as he added depth to the rock gods’ wailin’ guitar solos, often with none other than boring ol’ major/minor scales. Ya know, those same ones that, no matter what the rest of us do, always sound like “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

A Bouncy Lead Singer. Christine Tambakis has a big voice for such a small person. Kinda generic—a la Sheryl Crow—but that big, wide, goofy grin will send your worries a packin’. She just looks so happy, excited, and adorable, you can’t help but bounce right on along with her.

The music on the site doesn’t really do the band justice. I’m not making excuses … you should see for yourselves! Head over to Lucy’s Lounge (446 Bedford Rd Pleasantville, NY 10570 (914) 747.4740) TONIGHT at 10 p.m. Arrange for a CBDD.