The night of May 18, 2002 lives strong in my memory. With good reason, because that night I finally discovered a rock band here in New Orleans worth getting excited about. It had been six months since I left Scotland for the Big Easy, but so far I hadn’t found the local rock scene to be big, and sure as hell hadn’t found it easy.

The band I saw that night was Pleasure Club, and—as it turns out—that particular gig at the Howlin’ Wolf was a pivotal moment for them, too. A quick stop by the merch table after the show secured me a privately pressed copy of Here Comes the Trick—an album that remains familiar with my CD player (not to mention my neighbors) some 18 months later.

This reissue from the band’s newly formed Purified label, in conjunction with Sixthman, will hopefully introduce Trick to the wider audience it so richly deserves. If you don’t own a copy already, Here Comes the Trick is an edgy, intense experience. James Hall’s songs recall the decadence and swagger of the Stones at their early ’70s peak, coupled with the faded glamour of Diamond Dogs-era Bowie. This is classic rock for those who don’t use the term in the same breath as the words Dave and Matthews.

If your hard-earned dollar has already been invested in the original, the new two-CD expanded edition is still a worthy purchase. Live: Out of the Pulpit consists of eight tracks recorded—you guessed it—at the Howlin’ Wolf on May 18, 2002. With three exceptions, it steers clear of duplicating Trick material, concentrating instead on the best of James Hall’s solo career. The recording quality is excellent, if a little polite at times. There is urgency, however, in the band’s performances, and an enticing punk sneer in Hall’s voice. It all comes to a climax with a magnificent cover of Roxy Music’s “In Every Dream Home a Heartache,” the moment I knew I had a kindred spirit in the American South.