The Streetwalkin' Cheetahs, Peter Pan Speedrock at the Las Vegas Country Saloon, Thursday Oct 29, 2015

I've known the gents in the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs for damn near 20 years now and have played many a show with them and have even played in the band for a short time, so be aware that I might not be the most unbiased of critics here. These punk'n'roll veterans took a bit of a hiatus for a few years but have returned with founding members Frank Meyer (lead vocals/lead guitar) and Dino Everett (bass/backing vocals) now joined by Mike Sessa on drums (who did play in the group for a while previously) and LA stalwart, Bruce Duff on co-lead guitar and backing vox.

This line up sounds as powerful as the band ever did and while the guys may need warm-up exercises back stage now, they are still wild men once they hit the spotlights. They come out strong with their own "None of Your Business" (with its catchy "oh no, oh no - bitch!" chorus) and go through a variety of number from their long career. "Mama Train" and "No More" are a couple more blazers, but they also give us an amazing power-pop tune with "Satisfy" and even a country-fied take on the Heartbreakers' "I Wanna Be Loved", in which Duff swoops in with some tasty riffs. He and Frank work well together, complimenting each others' playing without stepping on anyone's toes - always fun to see a couple superior players working the stage!

They guys are not afraid to be performers and give the crowd (small as it was this evening - Las Vegas does not seem to come out on weeknights for rock'n'roll) a show - plenty of choreographed moves along with spontaneous flailin' about! The new single ("Escape From New York") got a rockin' reading and they blasted through a few more originals - "Darla", "Motor City Rock'n'Roll", "Freak Out Man" - with Everett and Sessa building a fantastic, steady foundation for the guitars to run amok - before ending with their classic extended power-house "Built For Speed" that allows Frank to run through the audience and even hand me the guitar for a bit of noodlin'n'wankin'. This morphed into the MC5's "Black to Comm" for a prototypal finale.

Always great fun with these cats and Dino even shows his support for the Swamp Gospel on his battered, punk rock bass! Check 'em out the next time they come to town - you won't be disappointed!

I was not familiar with the Dutch trio Peter Pan Speedrock, although they are also celebrating 20 years of rock'n'roll. Their name is pretty damn appropriate, as they mix punk'n'roll with speed metal, giving a super-aggressive sound. They opened with Cheap Trick's "Hello There", turned into a grungy fury-fest, and bashed their way through a set of their own stripped down power-rock. Their bassist gets the job done with only three strings on his instrument, proving that they do just get down to the basics!

I spotted a number of Turgo Jugend jackets and patches in the audience, and that's a reasonable comparison for these cats, though I think PPSR are more flat-out contentious than the more rock'n'roll-leaning Turbo Negro. Still, powerful stuff from a lean'n'mean (though damn nice guys) three piece. Since I had worked 13 hours that day after being out the night before, I couldn't stay through the entire set, but well worth seeing. Hopefully, they will receive bigger crowds in some of the other cities that they are visiting, although they couldn't fault the enthusiasm here!

Hallkats 4th Annual Trunk or Treat with King vs Cash and the Swamp Gospel, Wednesday Oct 28, 2015

Due to the Swamp Gospel's drummer, Brother Lenny, being co-owner of the local So Cal Speed Shop, some of the local car enthusiasts have come to know and dig the band, so we were invited to play at this year's Hellkats Trunk or Treat car show.

Unfortunately, massive amounts of construction in the area delayed us a bit, so we were not able to explore all of the hep vehicles, and rain that the weathermen promised would not materialize did make an appearance so the festivities were delayed here and there. But, plenty of folks showed up and a good time was had by all!

(The Munsters' Dragula hot rod)

Locals King vs Cash did manage to play their scheduled two sets, much to the enjoyment of the crowd. They have an Elvis impersonator (the King, of course, as played by CW Slate), along with a bassist that sings like Johnny Cash (Lazy Jo), a hip Gretsch-wielding guitarist (Doug Cook) and a drummer who plays referee (Josh Garcia). I've only see them once before, but I believe on this night they branched out a bit more than usual with covers from the likes of Ritchie Valens, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sham the Sham and more, along with their Elvis and Cash tunes. They had a great, tight sound - Cook is a fine guitarist with a sweet tone - and invited the costumed kiddies to join them onstage to dance and help play the instruments! Kids and adults were dancing throughout the parking lot (this was held at an east side Pep Boys lot) and the band even managed to time their sets to avoid most of the rain.

While the rain did finish by the time the Swamp Gospel went on, due to delays, the event was winding down and people were moving on by the time we played. Still, it was a fun and different experience and we wish the Hellkats many more!

recommended gigs

Friday Oct 30 - Deadbolt at the Golden Tiki

Saturday Oct 31 - Wanda Jackson with the Delta Bombers, Eddy Bear and the Cubs, Shanda and the Howlers and the Yawpers at Triple B
Saturday Oct 31 - the All Togethers at the Pioneer Saloon

Wednesday Nov 4 - the Swank Bastards at Franks and Deans Weenie Roast at the Double Down

Friday Nov 6 - Melanie and the Midnite Marauders at the Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Saturday Nov 7 - Geekapalooza at the Dive Bar with Tippy Elvis, the Doubleclicks, Time Crashers, Super Zeroes and 3d6
Saturday Nov 7 - Enchantment Under the Sea Dance at the Knights of Columbus Hall with Lil' Mo and the Dynaflos, the Swingin' Pedestrians, Shanda Cisneros and Scott Hinds

Sunday Nov 8 - the Sloths, Astaires, Strange Mistress at the Dive Bar

Tuesday Nov 10 - the Beau Hodges Band at Saddles and Spurs

Wednesday Nov 11 - the Briefs at the Fremont Country Club - with Lagwagon

Thursday Nov 12 - the Unwieldies with the Part Time Criminals at the Velveteen Rabbit

Saturday Nov 14 - the Gentlemen of Four Outs at the Huntridge
Saturday Nov 14 - Water Landing and the All Togethers at Artifice

Sunday Nov 15 - Timmy's Organism at the Dive Bar (friends of the Gizmos - from Detroit!)

Friday Nov 20 - the Mapes, Maxies, Undercover Monsters and Melanie and the Midnite Marauders at the Dive Bar

Saturday Nov 21 - the Heiz at the Double Down with the Psyatics, Franks'n'Deans, the People's Whiskey, New Cold War

Wednesday Nov 25 - Public Imagine Ltd at Brooklyn Bowl
Wednesday Nov 25 - the Swank Bastards Basstravaganza at the Double Down

Friday Dec 4 - Rev Horton Heat, Lords of Altamont at Vinyl Las Vegas

Saturday Dec 5 - The return of the Lucky Cheats with the Swamp Gospel at the Sand Dollar

Saturday Dec 12 - Nic Turner's Hawkwind with the Psyatics at the LV Country Saloon

Saturday Dec 19 - Nashville Pussy at the Dive Bar

What have I forgotten? Lemme know

Panther Burns / Eliza Battle at the Beauty Bar, Las Vegas, Monday Oct 26, 2015

I almost couldn't believe that the legendary Panther Burns was going to make an appearance in Las Vegas - something they haven't done since Wayne Coyner got them to perform in his Underground Record Store back in the 80's. I saw Tav Falco's group throughout the 80's in Los Angeles (their first show at the Cathay De Grande, supporting Behind the Magnolia Curtain, as well as several subsequent gigs, including a friend's backyard bar-be-que!), but have not had a chance to experience them live for eons, so I was quite excited about this one. Unfortunately, they came through on a Monday, guaranteeing a small crowd, which is what they received, but the audience was quite enthusiastic and certainly fans.

Opening was a local act, Eliza Battle, a somewhat cow-punk-styled group with the standard 2-guitar, bass, drums instrumentation, but with a female harmony singer, which added a lot to the tunes. The bassist sang (and belched!), as well, giving some numbers nice, 3 part harmonies. Interesting stuff - I'm sure I'll see them again soon.

Unfortunately, the venue played some terrible disco between bands - I can never understand why it is so difficult to play appropriate music for a night, but it seems especially hard at the Beauty Bar for some reason - maybe it is what their average clientele likes, But, the sound was good for the groups - not overly loud and you could actually hear everything - so I suppose I should not complain!

A noticeable change in vibe with some hep soundtrack music that led to the appearance of the unapproachable (as Tav says) Panther Burns - I didn't catch everyone's names, but Falco appeared in a super-sharp sharkskin suit, with an equally dapper Gretsch guitar-player, a cool key player, sharp dresser and excellent drummer Toby Dammit (Stooges/Nick Cave) and Mike Watt (Minuteman/Stooges), looking like someone's disheveled, lost grandpa, on bass, which he excelled at. He did keep to the back and stayed in the groove without grandstanding - other than a swingin' bass solo (encouraged by Falco) towards the end of the set.And he played a violin-shaped bass that matched Falco's long-standing 6-stringer!

Tav showed off his fancy footwork while the crew gave us a fine version of "Green Onions", and then he picked up his guitar and cut loose on a smokin' "Funnel of Love". I love his wild, unpredictable and clamorous solos, which balanced out the other guitarist's more lucid lines. They did play some twin guitar riffs during their original song about Marie Laveau - not the Bobby Bare classic.

The set covered much of the man's long-lasting career, from "San Antoine" from his debut, to "Sway" (Shadow Dancer) to Memphis Minnie's "Me and My Chauffeur Blues", to a cool, atmospheric "Lady From Shanghai". There was a particularly vicious blues in "Make Me Know You're Mine" and a number of songs from the new record (Command Performance), like "Master of Chaos" and "Jungle Fever".

The full moon seemed especially befitting and while the crowd was small, they were highly exuberant, with people screamin'n'shouting'n'dancin'n'hollerin'. Falco could make a performance out of taking a drink or combing his hair, but excelled with several songs that I had never heard from him - an homage to Alex Chilton (who produced and played with the Burns early on) with the man's "Bangkok" and a great, groovin' song about his hometown of Memphis.They pulled out all the stops for the final numbers, a stomper called "My Mind Was Messed Up At the Time" - with call'n'answer vocals and a fantastic noise/feedback solo - and a dynamic political tune called "Whistle Blower".

No encores, but goddamn, what a show! I wish that I could really put into words the essence of a Panther Burns concert - a mixture of accomplished playing and pure adrenaline madness, swingin' grooves and off-time cacophonous stutterin', superb showmanship, unique banterin' and a true, pure soul of rock'n'roll. So good to know that Tav still has it, though I don't see it ever leavin' him, even once he has shuffled off this mortal coil. This man is the real deal - support him any way you can!

Thank you to the Beauty Bar for bringing this kind of quality to Las Vegas!

Panther Burns - Shadow Dancer

Tav Falco and his mighty Panther Burns are coming to Las Vegas for the first time since I have been living here, so I have been pulling out some of their stuff lately. This one I have not heard as much as some of the others, but is still a quality piece of PB magical madness.

This is mostly a covers record, but Tav's renditions are unlike most any others that you have heard. His voice, timing and musicians give an off-beat (sometimes literally) quality to the tunes that most people cannot - or purposely do not - achieve.

Flaco is the suave man in the title of "Invocation of the Shadow Dancer", a sultry tango, with good use of piano and percussion, where you can picture him seducing the young ladies on the dance floor. Wanda Jackson's classic "Funnel of Love" is given a dizzingly Burns' treatment, followed by another tango, this time Michael Buble's "Sway", where the band once again excels. Tav gives us an original, dramatic ballad in "Love's Last Warning", a languorous take on Jimmy Witherspoon's "Lotus Blossum", picks up the pace for the swingin' "Quando Vedrai La Mia Raggazza", gives us another wonderful take on Dion's "Born To Cry" (that Johnny Thunders did on his Copy Cats album), Brooke Benton's "I'll Take Carae of You" is a soulful, organ-drenched tear-jerker, and there's a fun surprise with a stompin' take on the Honeycombs' "Have I the Right?".

"Music Maestro Please" starts as a boogie-woogie before changing into a slow piano ballad, then another Spanish-language tango in ""Guarda Che Luna", another Tav original in "Born Too Late", bemoaning his fate of living in this day and age, before the grand finale of a reprise of "Shadow Dancer".

More lounge lizard than his earlier incarnation of cacophonous rockabilly madman, but still fabulous stuff! Can't wait to see him again in person!

Loretta Lynn - Still Woman Enough (with Patsi Bale Cox)

After the success of the book and movie, Coal Miner’s Daughter, Loretta still felt that she had more to say – or maybe things to clear up – and so, in 2002, wrote this sequel.

 I believe that another incident helped her to decide to write more – the death of her husband, Doolittle, who got her career started, but who was also an abusive, cheating, scumbag . She elaborates on many of her previous stories and adds more to them and while she continues to defend her spouse, you can’t help feeling bad for the person who withstood these mental and physical blows. She is always quick to point out that she was no angel herself, but her exploits are beyond minor when compared to her husband’s. As the book unfolds, it is more than obvious that she had quite a bit to say about her late husband and while continuing to defend him, she tells plenty of sickening stories of his womanizing and more.

She opens up about other aspects of her life, such as pretty much all of her kids having failed marriages – you get the feeling that they didn’t want to end up like their parents, in a marriage based on infidelity and lies. At least a couple of the boys did become alcoholics, like their father, and one died – drowned in an accident. Not long after, her husband died, along with other relatives. Life has certainly not been easy for Loretta.

But, she eventually returned to music and it did help her to cope with everything else. She is a bit cagey but mentions a new man in her life, who sounds like a much better person than her late husband. She has had health issues herself, but now that she has returned to performing, she wants to continue to do so as long as she can.

There's a lot of sadness in this tale, but she is a strong woman - maybe just now finding that our about herself - and a great talent. 

recommended gigs

Friday Oct 23 - GWAR at Fremont Country Club
Friday Oct 23 - the Vibrators with the Psyatics, Ulteriors and Dethsurf at the Double Down
Friday Oct 23 - Sandy Nelson at Forge Social House in Boulder City

Saturday Oct 24 - Water Landing and the Unwieldies at W. Wayne Bunker Family Park for Bully Busters Benefit
Saturday Oct 24 - The Swank Bastards at Dillingers

Monday Oct 26 - the Panther Burns at the Beauty Bar
Monday Oct 26 - Thee Swank Bastards and the Pluralses at the Double Down

Wednesday Oct 28 - The Swamp Gospel at HellKat Car Club's Trunk or Treat - starts at 6:00 pm, SG on at 9:00pm sharp!
Wednesday Oct 28 - the Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Friday Oct 30 - Deadbolt at the Golden Tiki

Saturday Oct 31 - Wanda Jackson with the Delta Bombers, Eddy Bear and the Cubs, Shanda and the Howlers and the Yawpers at Triple B
Saturday Oct 31 - the All Togethers at the Pioneer Saloon

Wednesday Nov 4 - the Swank Bastards at Franks and Deans Weenie Roast at the Double Down

Friday Nov 6 - Melanie and the Midnite Marauders at the Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Saturday Nov 7 - Geekapalooza at the Dive Bar with Tippy Elvis, the Doubleclicks, Time Crashers, Super Zeroes and 3d6
Saturday Nov 7 - Enchantment Under the Sea Dance at the Knights of Columbus Hall with Lil' Mo and the Dynaflos, the Swingin' Pedestrians, Shanda Cisneros and Scott Hinds

Sunday Nov 8 - the Sloths, Astaires, Strange Mistress at the Dive Bar

Wednesday Nov 11 - the Briefs at the Fremont Country Club - with Lagwagon

Thursday Nov 12 - the Unwieldies with the Part Time Criminals at the Velveteen Rabbit

Saturday Nov 14 - the Gentlemen of Four Outs at the Huntridge
Saturday Nov 14 - Water Landing and the All Togethers at Artifice

Sunday Nov 15 - Timmy's Organism at the Dive Bar (friends of the Gizmos - from Detroit!)

Friday Nov 20 - the Mapes, Maxies, Undercover Monsters and Melanie and the Midnite Marauders at the Dive Bar

Saturday Nov 21 - the Heiz at the Double Down with the Psyatics, Franks'n'Deans, the People's Whiskey, New Cold War

Wednesday Nov 25 - Public Imagine Ltd at Brooklyn Bowl
Wednesday Nov 25 - the Swank Bastards Basstravaganza at the Double Down

Friday Dec 4 - Rev Horton Heat, Lords of Altamont at Vinyl Las Vegas

Saturday Dec 5 - The return of the Lucky Cheats with the Swamp Gospel at the Sand Dollar

Saturday Dec 19 - Nashville Pussy at the Dive Bar

What have I forgotten? Lemme know

Carl Perkins - Memphis

Carl Perkins' work is sorely lacking in my collection for some odd reason, although somewhere along

the line I picked up this budget CD. While it is a good, rockin' record, it does not consist of original, or even early recording from the man. The CD "booklet" says almost nothing, so I don't know the story of this collection, but it sounds as if it were done in the 80's or 90's. Well done, yes, and no obnoxious 80's drum sounds or annoying keyboards, and Carl's guitar is generally front and center, but it doesn't have the magic of the early days.

Included are fun versions of hits by Carl and his early contemporaries, such as "Blue Suede Shoes" (of course), "Matchbook", "Honey Don't", "Whole Lotta Shakin'", "Maybellene", "Birddog", "Be-bop-a-Lula" and lots more. As I say, it's all a good time and well done for udpates, but just not the same as the early days. If he were doing a modern record, it would be nice to hear newer originals. As it is, it's a good nostalgia record, without having the power of the originals. Not bad, but not anything that is necessary.

Peculiar Pretzelmen – Who Brought the Serpent Down

I have been a big fan of the Preztelmen since I first saw them at the Huntridge Tavern earlier this year and I love the other two CDs of theirs that I have, but I did not think that either of them quite captured the intensity of their live performance. Naturally, that is difficult to do on any recording, but this new CD does its damnedest and is a terrific representation of their current act.

The duo – Kevin Incroyable on vocals and various string instruments and Deacon Marrquin on drums and homemade percussion – open this proverbial can of worms with a wall of feedback and stompin’ rhythms that are layered with banjo and who-knows-what-else in “Recession”. Fine use of dynamics here as the noise intertwines with the lyrics, all while maintaining a hillbilly head-bangin’ hop throughout. The intensity doesn’t let up in “Little Death”, which almost reminds me of an updated, original take on Ministry’s “Jesus Built My Hot Rod”, but that might just be my twisted imagines. “Rabbit Foot Blues” is a new recording of the opening from Everything Must Be Broken, keeping its catchy melody and banjo licks and layering keys and a bit more to the ending. I can’t help it, but certain things that these gents do remind me of Tom Waits and “Desramond” would not feel out of place on Rain Dogs, with its infectious, syncopated rhythms and various interactions between banjo, fuzz-fury and with vocals ranging from crooning to screaming. Songs like this really make Deacon stand out as a clever and original percussionist, as well. I’m not familiar with “Helm”, but it sounds like an early Americana tune, given a driving beat and a bit of odd distorted squank here’n’there.

“Heart Attack” is truly frantic, with nice bits of tire rim ringin’ and assorted bash’n’clang, and they slow things down a bit for “Boom”, a cacophonous slough through a swamp with the melodic feedback pulling at your heels while Kevin’s voice pushes you along. There’s an actual ballad in “Pobrecito”, a modern-day Mexican folk song with really nice melodic twists’n’turns, but still with clangs’n’fuzz throughout. The appropriately titled “Howling Gale” follows before throwing what sounds like damn near the whole kitchen sink in the mighty, shrieking finale “Dead Hate the Living”.

I can’t recommend these cats enough – every CD that I have is stellar, though this just might be the best of the bunch. Definitely see them live any chance you can, as well!

Witch Baby, the Gentlemen of Four Outs, the Peculiar Pretzelmen at the Huntridge Tavern, Oct 18, 2015

Once again, the Huntridge Tavern played host/hostess to a night of diverse and cool music - thank you again to Kate, Amber, Arty and all of the Huntridge crew!

The evening opened with a short set by a new duo, Witch Baby, featuring two young ladies (Signe Kofoed and Psalm Indino), one electric guitar, fine songs and superior vocals. The sound is old-timey torch tunes - the one cover that they announced was by Patti Page - with a bit of an edge to the guitar and excellent harmonies. Described as "adorable" by at least one member of the audience, they have style and talent - a nice combination! I'm sure you will be seeing these gals around!

Up next was the Gentlemen of Four Outs, again featuring myself, so again I will simply say that we had another great time playing for the patrons of the HT, as we always do. Thank you to Nikki Ruffing for the photos!

The Peculiar Pretzelmen returned to the Huntridge for another round with the Gentlemen. Their last visit was in June, on their Everything Must Be Broken tour, where they garnered quite a number of new fans, along with the folks who already knew them from their time with Soda and His Million Piece Band. They already have another terrific CD out, Who Brought the Serpent Down, and are touring to promote that. Of course there had to be some adventure on this stop, so the freeway AND the detour were closed for their drive into town, but they persevered and made it to the bar with minutes to spare!

PP started things off with their take on the swampy classic "Marie Laveau" and ran through a number of songs from their previous CDs, several from the new one and classics like "Tom Dooley", "So Long, It's Been Good to Know Ya" and more. The homemade instruments - banjo and ukulele made from film canisters, crazed, found apparatus made into percussion gadgets - mixed with classic pieces like the more traditional drum gear and the old Gibson mandocello, along with the various effects boxes, give the duo a unique and full sound. As I said before, I get a Tom Waits feel from their sounds, but they certainly have their own twisted spin on it all.

Everyone who sees them are sold on them - definitely check them out the next time they come through your area and pick up their CDs - you won't be disappointed!

BTW - drummer Deacon has apparently been nominate for a Grammy for his percussion work on another project - he and Kevin should get one for the PP, as well!