Thee Swank Bastards - Huntridge Tavern - Friday September 13, 2013

I hadn't made it out for any Swank Bastards gigs for a while, but the Huntridge is a comfortable dive bar and I knew they weren't going to be starting their set at 2 or 3 in the morning (as they often do at places like the Double Down), so off I went!

Thee Bastards started around 10:30 and played two sets of their own brand of surfin' rock'n'roll with people yellin', dancin', adding new punchlines to their jokes and buying them drinks! Stellar guitarist Jesse Del Quadro led the cats through some wild, original, reverbed numbers aided and abetted by drummer John Holod and bassist Jeff Murphy (of the Bitters) sitting in for Shaun Coleman (and wearing a fake beard in honor of Shaun).

Don't really know of anyone else in Vegas doing this type of music and the Swankers do it right. Their originals are well-written melodies - not just a single riff repeated in a I-IV-V progression over and over - and they do clever covers, from a medley of spy themes to classics like "Pipeline" to a random Slayer song (I didn't recognize this, but so I was told). I ducked out as they were starting their second set, but they have been known to do a set's worth of Black Sabbath covers, as well!

Always a good time, the Bastards are a must see for fans of non-derivative surf-styled music ala LA's Insect Surfers or the Black Widows. Thanks to Huntridge manager Kate Alexander for having these cats perform for her birthday bash!