RASPBERRIES REDUX



In-depth conversations about the history of power pop almost always include mentions of Big Star, Badfinger and The Raspberries.

Those bands pretty much established the genre's key ingredients in the early-to-mid-1970s -- catchy melodies and crisp harmonies, punchy guitars and muscular drums.

Of the Big Three, only The Raspberries have all of its original members alive and well -- and playing together, too.

In 2004, Eric Carmen, Dave Smalley, Jim Bonfanti and Wally Bryson reunited to perform that November at the opening of Cleveland's House of Blues.

That was followed by a New Year's Eve gig at the same venue, then a handful of tour dates across America in 2005. This past summer, the Ryko label released Live on the Sunset Strip, recorded in Los Angeles on Oct. 21, 2005.

The next two Raspberries concerts will be Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 13 and 14) at Highline Ballroom, 431 W. 16th St. in Manhattan. For tickets, go to www.highlineballroom.com.

For more about the band, visit www.raspberriesonline.com.