Shanda & The Howlers and Brian G Soul at the Bunkhouse, Saturday Feb 27, 2016

The Bunkhouse is now highlighting a lot of local talent and letting some great bands stretch out a bit on evenings such as these, where there were just two bands before a late evening of DJ music.


Opening was Brian G Soul, apparently a relative of Marvin Gaye (he introduced Marvin's sister in the audience), who gave a set of Gaye-like soul and blues, with covers of songs like Gaye's "Let's Get It On", "Stormy Monday", "Superstitious", "Let's Dance, Let's Shout", "Brick House" and more. The backing band was apparently a local casino band - very talented and very slick, with strong guitar playing, keys that would aptly cover the horn parts of the songs and a funky-but-white rhythm section. A little more polished than I usually go far, but plenty of expertise and Brian does have a fine soul voice.

Vegas' own soul-blues belter, Shanda and her Howlers were the main attraction of the night though and, as always, they put on a terrific performance. Shanda's raw'n'sultry voice leads the charge as Luke and Keith lay down the rhythms, Trevor adds some clever'n'tasty guitar licks and Micah blows some excellent sax. Tonight their set was a mix of originals and covers with numbers like the bouncin' opener "Keep Tellin' Me", the jumpin' R'n'B of "I'm Afraid", a kinda Ray Charles-esque call'n'answer, a slower Otis Redding-styled number, Huey Piano Smith's "Don't You Just Know It", James Brown's "If You Leave Me", "When You Walk" - a jump swing with cool key changes - a soul stomper and the wild closer "Shout!". Certainly one of the best bands in town and the place to go for 60's soul and r'n'b.

The Lucky Cheats, Alex and His Meal Ticket, Melanie and the Midnite Marauders at the Beauty Bar for Johnny Cash's Birthday

Kind of a last minute addition for MMM to be part of this show, but we through together a couple of Cash covers ("Big River" and "Jackson") to our usual set of high-energy honky-tonk and opened up the night. Turned out to be a beautiful night and there was a fair amount of people for our performance. Still working out some kinks, but a good time.

(Thanks to Wade Braggs for the MMM pics)

In my post-performance tear-down/recovery period, I neglected to take any pix of Alex and His Meal Ticket - sorry! They got a good crowd of friends/fans out for their set, who were quite enamored with the group and their alt-rock/country/unique sounds.

The Lucky Cheats closed out the night with a sit-in drummer - jeez, I forgot his name, I am a jerk - who slammed the skins for some of their rockin' tunes, such as "I Wish You Would", "Skinny Woman", "Hip Shake" and their Cash covers - they also did "Big River" though quite different from MMM's version - and a wild take on "Cocaine Blues". There were a couple of newer songs I didn't recognize, like a swingin' jump blues that guitarist Wade sang and a pulsating half-time blues where Jeffrey played the harp without the amp, giving the song a different feel. Always a great time with these cats - super players and truly one of my fave bands in town. See them any chance you can!

Thanks to the Beauty Bar for having us and to everyone who came out to say happy birthday to Mr. Cash!

recommended gigs

Friday Feb 26 - the Lucky Cheats with Melanie and the Midnite Marauders and Alex and His Meal Ticket at the Beauty Bar for Johnny Cash B-day celebration

Saturday Feb 27 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Feb 27 - the All Togethers at the Pioneer Saloon
Saturday Feb 27 - Archie and the Bunkers at the Golden Tiki

Monday Feb 29 - Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki
Monday Feb 29 - Dead Moon with the Psyatics at the Beauty Bar

Wednesday Mar 2 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast with the Fink Bombs at the Double Down

Friday Mar 4 - the Part Time Criminals and the Unwieldies at the Sand Dollar
Friday Mar 4 - James Intveld with the Centuries, Pyro Surfers and the Ditch Diggers at Triple B
Friday Mar 4 - the Rhyolite Sound with Nellie Wilson at the Bunkhouse
Friday Mar 4 - the Super Zeroes at the Village Courtyard

Saturday Mar 5 - the All Togethers, Legendary Boilermakers, Water Landing at Bonnie Springs Ranch - starts at 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sunday Mar 6 - The Peculiar Pretzelmen at the Golden Tiki
Sunday Mar 6 - Pussyrama with the Pussyrammers at the Double Down

Monday Mar 7 - The Rhyolite Sound with Jackson Taylor and the Sinners at the Beauty Bar

Friday Mar 11 - The Mapes, Black Camero and lots more at the Neon Reverb Festival at the Bunkhouse

Saturday Mar 12 - Yosemite Slam, 3d6, Jerk, Durango 66 at The Rockin' Dead Zombie Apocalypse Bar
Saturday Mar 12 - the Astaires, Party Baby, Quitters, Sad Girl, Tijuana Panthers - Neon Reverb Festival at the Beauty Bar

Sunday Mar 13 - the Koffin Kats and the Scoundrels at the Dive Bar
Sunday Mar 13 - Chuck Ragan, Jeff Mix and the Songhearts, Eleanor Friedberger, Dusty Sunshine, Paige Overton, the All Togethers at the Neon Reverb Festival at Triple B

Friday Mar 18, The Swamp Gospel, Melanie and the Midnite Marauders, the Gentlemen of Four Outs and the Psyatics at the Double Down

Saturday Mar 19 - the Queers and the Dwarves at the LV Country Saloon
Saturday Mar 19 - Water Landing at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Wednesday Mar 23 - the Two Tens at the Beauty Bar
Wednesday Mar 23 - Stump Tail Dolly, the All Togethers and El Banjo at the Dive Bar

Tues April 5 - Nekrogoblikon, Swamp Pussy, Firewater Folklore at the Dive Bar

Friday April 8 - the Gentlemen of Four Outs at the Golden Tiki

Saturday April 9 - the Lucky Cheats at the Sand Dollar

Friday April 15 - the Gentlemen of Four Outs with Melanie and the Midnite Marauders at the Hard Hat

Saturday May 14 - the New Waves at the Pioneer Saloon

Monday May 28 - Joan Jett at Fremont Street Experience

What have I forgotten? Lemme know

Jefferson Airplane 2400 Fulton Street - The CD Collection

This 2-CD collection - named after their house in San Francisco - is a compilation of tracks spanning their career and includes 11 tracks not included on other releases. It is not exactly chronological, for some odd reason, but does have some of their best material.

I don't really understand the way it jumps around, but it begins with a section called Beginnings with a couple of numbers from Takes Off, moves on to Surrealistic Pillow (logically) but then jumps back to Takes Off for a couple more tracks and then adds the folky "JPP McStep B Blues" from the previous comp Early Flight.

For the Psychedelia section we get "Plastic Fantastic Lover" and then a few selections from After Bathing At Baxter's (their third LP) including the bizarrely titled "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" and the sound collage "A Small Package of Value Will Come To You, Shortly". From there the comp bounces all over, with cuts from SP ("Go Ask Alice"), ABAB  (the amazing harmony-driven "Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon"), Crown of Creation (the unusual drama of "Lather") , Bless It's Pointed Little Head (Donovan's "Fat Angel" given their fuzz'n'harmony arrangement) and back with the fantastically fuzz-drenched "The Last Wall of the Castle" (ABAB) and Grace's "Greasy Heart" (COC).

CD 2's Revolution portion consists of songs from Volunteers, COC (the fine title track), ABAB (the Mid-Eastern-ish "Rejoyce"), Woodstock (Volunteers"), single cuts ("Mexico" and "Have You Seen the Saucers?") and "Eat Starch Mom" from Long John Silver. Airplane Parts is comprised of Bark's "Pretty as You Feel" and "Third Week in the Chelsea" along with more songs from the other albums already represented, such as one of my faves, their cover of David Crosby's ode to a menage-a-trois, "Triad", which has a different feel with Grace singing it. The whole sheebang concludes with their psychedelic Levis commercial!

Overall, a good comp, with plenty of their important material represented. I think this might be discontinued, but if its still around it is worthwhile if you're looking for a JA comp.

Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers

This 6th album by the Airplane, released in 1969, shows the band at their most political, with anti-war and anarchistic messages, and the loveliest reading of "up against the wall motherfucker" you're likely to hear in a song! Guest musicians included the likes of Jerry Garcia, Nikki Hopkins, David Crosby and Stephen Stills.

Opening with the rockin' "We Can Be Together", Jorma riffs around the catchy harmonized melody while they sing of being outlaws, anarchy and "up against the wall"! The traditional "Good Shepard" gets a folk/psych reading at the hands of Kaukonen, who adds some really fine guitar lines. The get into country rock with "The Farm", complete with Garcia's pedal steel and Slick's honky-tonky piano and then get quite heavy with Slick's "Hey Fredrick", where she also adds piano and more amazing vocals while Jorma gives a wild performance with dueling lead guitars.

Side two of the album began a bit mellower with "Turn My Life Down" (with Stills on Hammond organ), though it picks up pace pretty quickly and David Crosby's "Wooden Ships" is given a sweet reading. I think I still slightly prefer CSNY's version, but this is right up there. "Eskimo Blue Day" is a bit psychedelically disjointed, but is also one of my favorite songs of theirs with the lopping, changing rhythms, stinging leads and, again, Grace belting it out with passion and power and perfect pitch. Not quite as successful for me is their other foray into country in Spencer Dryden's "Song For All Seasons". Slick plays organ for the traditional "Meadowlands" and then the band blasts into the ferocious title track that begins with Balin singing/shouting "look what's happening in the street - start a revolution!" Definitely one of their most high-energy performances and a fantastic song.

Another excellent JA record, from start to finish. This belongs in any psych-rock fan's collection!

Jefferson Airplane - Surrealistic Pillow

Continuing in my Airplane mode, this second album by the band is the first with Grace Slick (replacing Signe) and drummer Spencer Dryden joining Marty Balin, Paul Kantner, Jack Cassidy and Jorma Kaukonen to form the best know and most successful version of the group. For most people, this record heralded the San Francisco psychedelic scene.

Dryden starts things off with a semi-Bo Diddley beat for "She Has Funny Cars", with its varied rhythms, vocal interplay and mix of hard-edged chords and fuzz guitar. Grace shows how important she is in the band with her powerful "Somebody To Love", their rockin' first hit single - still a spine-tinglingly terrific song to this day - and wow, what a psyched out solo from Jorma! Ex-drummer Skip Spence still gets  a tune on this album in "My Best Friend", a light-hearted ballad. Also slow, in a more psychedelic vein is Balin and Kantner's "Today", a beautifully haunting love song - one of my faves. This feel continues in side one's closer, Balin's "Comin' Back to Me" - with Grace on recorder, which adds a nice feel.

They come back swingin' on side two with the fantastic riff-rocker "3/5 of a Mile in 10 Seconds" follower by a nice folk-rock number from Kantner, oddly named "DCBA-25" - great vocal interplay here. "How Do You Feel" has more multi-layered harmonies which leads into an excellent acoustic guitar workout by Kaukonen in "Embryonic Journey". Of course, one of their most (in)famous songs is Grace's Alice In Wonderland-on-acid "Go Ask Alice", an all-too-short psych-rocker with Slick's incredible vocals leading the way. Balin closes the record with another fine piece of psychedelic rock'n'roll, the hard-edged "Plastic Fantastic Lover" - dig Jorma's leads here!

Excellent record that showed the variety of sounds coming from San Francisco at the time. Supposed Jerry Garcia contributed to the album, as well, though how much he added seems to be debatable. Regardless, that simply shows that the scene was cohesive and worked together. Essential 60's time capsule!

Slim and the Supreme Angels - Superset

I have been enthralled with old school gospel music and have been finding more and more lately that is energetic and entertaining, as good gospel should be! This sextet all sang - giving the big choir sound - and played their own instruments (guitar, keys, bass, drums). I believe that I stumbled upon Slim via Facebook and this 2-CD set gives a good overview of their style and evolution.

The opener, "Jesus Is Listening" is a fine, mid-tempo traditional gospel number, Slim does some sermonizing for the intro to the slower "I Wanna Go", there's a hip, soulful groove to "What's the Matter Now", another slower chorale number in "I Never Heard a Man", a swingin' "Rise Again", a perfectly frantic, high-energy "Praise Song" (love this kind of sacred wildness - and the excellent frenetic lead guitar!), more sermonizing with the band "answering" him musically as the congregation does vocally in the lead-in to "Ziklag", another slow groove with fine harmonizing in "The Last Days", more bouncin'n'clappin' in "Nobody But You Lord" and CD one closes out with another slow preachin'n'evangelizin' number "Someone Needs a Miracle" that sounds like someone is falling out in the audience!

CD 2 starts with a righteous blast with "Saints in Praise", another high-energy stomper that has some intense, Hendrix-y guitar riffin', and again alternates with a ballad in "Stay Under the Blood", a swingin' 60's-soul-styled "I've Come All the Way", a somber "My Soul Loves Only You" that builds with the help of the chorus and some powerful soul screamin', a hand-clappin' soul singalong "Just Wanna Thank the Lord", another jumpin', old-school gospel in "A Mother in Zion", a mid-tempo call'n'answer with "The Lord Is Blessing Me" (dig the repeated "yeahs"!), a bit slower with "People Get Ready", another ballad in "Crown Life" before the soul-stirrin' finale "People Don't Do".

While some stuff here is a little slick and polished, overall, this is a infectious piece of gospel-soul - righteously groovy!

recommended gigs

Friday Feb 19 - Toasters, Scoundrels at the Dive Bar
Friday Feb 19 - Swank Bastards at the Double Down
Friday Feb 19 - the All Togethers at Triple George
Friday Feb 19 - Franks'n'Deans at the Hard Rock
Friday Feb 19 - Killian's Angels at Brendan's Pub

Saturday Feb 20 - Alan Six with Jerk, Radio Silence Jess and the Hogg Brothers at the Double Down
Saturday Feb 20 - Killian's Angels at Brendan's Pub
Saturday Feb 20 - Legendary Boilermakers at the Double Down

Monday Feb 22- Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday Feb 23 - the Mapes, Pluralses, Jerk at the Beauty Bar

Wed Feb 24 - Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Friday Feb 26 - the Lucky Cheats with Melanie and the Midnite Marauders and Alex and His Meal Ticket at the Beauty Bar for Johnny Cash B-day celebration

Saturday Feb 27 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Feb 27 - the All Togethers at the Pioneer Saloon
Saturday Feb 27 - Archie and the Bunkers at the Golden Tiki

Monday Feb 29 - Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki
Monday Feb 29 - Dead Moon at the Beauty Bar

Wednesday Mar 2 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast with the Fink Bombs at the Double Down

Friday Mar 4 - the Punknecks at the Dive Bar
Friday Mar 4 - the Part Time Criminals and the Unwieldies at the Sand Dollar
Friday Mar 4 - James Intveld with the Centuries, Pyro Surfers and the Ditch Diggers at Triple B

Saturday Mar 5 - Eddy Bear and the Cubs at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Mar 5 - the All Togethers, Legendary Boilermakers, Water Landing at Bonnie Springs Ranch - starts at 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sunday Mar 6 - The Peculiar Pretzelmen at the Golden Tiki
Sunday Mar 6 - Pussyrama with the Pussyrammers at the Double Down

Monday Mar 7 - Eddy Bear and the Cubs with Jackson Taylor and the Sinners at the Beauty Bar

Sunday Mar 13 - the Koffin Kats and the Scoundrels at the Dive Bar

Friday Mar 18, The Swamp Gospel, Melanie and the Midnite Marauders, the Gentlemen of Four Outs and the Psyatics at the Double Down

Saturday Mar 19 - the Queers and the Dwarves at the LV Country Saloon

Wednesday Mar 23 - the Two Tens at the Beauty Bar
Wednesday Mar 23 - Stump Tail Dolly, the All Togethers and El Banjo at the Dive Bar

Tues April 5 - Nekrogoblikon, Swamp Pussy, Firewater Folklore at the Dive Bar

Friday April 8 - the Gentlemen of Four Outs at the Golden Tiki

Friday April 15 - the Gentlemen of Four Outs with Melanie and the Midnite Marauders at the Hard Hat

Saturday May 14 - the New Waves at the Pioneer Saloon

Monday May 28 - Joan Jett at Fremont Street Experience

What have I forgotten? Lemme know

The Electric Ferrets - No Regrets

The Electric Ferrets were an LA-based punk rock/garage band from the late 80's/early 90's that I saw and played with numerous times back in the day. Fun band and damn nice guys. They just reformed - and played their debut show in Las Vegas - and have released this new CD that includes 8 new songs with the current line-up - singer Greg, guitarist Flying Ike, bassist Todd and drummer Gizz - as well as 3 from the original line up with Greg, Ike, 2nd guitarist Kevin (now in Vegas' the Super Zeroes) and rhythm section Rudy & Brian.

The sound here is tight'n'fast 70's-styled punk with great production, cool lead guitars (Ike can really play!), and sorta Jello Biafra-like vocals. "Ruin" could almost be an outtake from the Boys, "I Don't Know" is frenzied, with fast-talkin' vocals and Bad Religion-like big choruses and riffs, "Number 35" is another beserker, kinda reminding me of the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs at their most manic, while "New World Order" is evocative of the Dead Kennedys, down to the "ah-ah-ah's" at the end!

If anything, they get even faster in the blink-and-you'll-miss-it "I Hate, Hate" and "No Future" (no relation to the Sex Pistols' song), while "When I Get Bored (I Play One Chord)" is self-explanatory! Their take on the Adverts' "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" is pretty spot-on and is followed by the "oldies" - the bonus tracks from their 2nd Dionysus EP. The sound isn't quite as clean'n'tight on these older tunes, but still powerful'n'drivin' - "2,3,4" is a buzzsaw love song, "Lumberjack Baby" probably should have been described as "buzzsaw", cuz it is, as well, and has some funny lyrics, and then they channel the Lazy Cowgirls with a punk rock take on Hank Williams' "My Son Calls Another Man Daddy".

All too short, but a rockin' digitalized disc! Definitely check 'em out if ya can for a guaranteed good punk-rock time!

Traffic - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys

This FM radio hit album was probably my real introduction into Traffic. Of course, I had heard their Top Forty hit "Paper Sun" before, but I doubt that much else had stuck with me until this became a must-have record for any and every stoner in the early 70's. Led by Steve Winwood, this version of Traffic reformed after his stint in Blind Faith, which helped with its popularity. Joined by Jim Capaldi on vocals and percussion, along with Chris Wood (sax/flute), Rick Gretch (bass/violin - who also played in Blind Faith), Jim Gordon on drums and percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah, they mixed their rock and r'n'b roots with folk, jazz and whatever else came to mind!

Opening with the flute-led "Hidden Treasure" that hearkens back to the traditional sounds of John Barleycorn Must Die, they also show growth and expansion in this mellow introduction. Of course, the title cut is one of their best known numbers, mixing jazz (it has nods to "Take Five" in its rhythm) with rock, with excellent use of dynamics, Steve's terrific vocals and lyrics, treated sax interplaying with the melody and fine piano work. Of course, the long instrumental break may put off some people, but I find it to be a wonderful workout. Jim takes lead vocals on the cheekily upbeat "Light Up of Leave My Alone" - talk about singing directly to your audience! - where Steve gets to show off on guitar (he was equally adept at both git and keys) - and he also sings lead on "Rock & Roll Stew", a groove-filled riff-rocker with more cool guitar licks from Steve. "Many A Mile To Freedom" is a bit of a light-weight folk-pop number that is nice enough but I don't find it as memorable as the rest of the album, though it does have some nice instrumental work. The vinyl ended with "Rainmaker", another flute-led, harmony-driven piece of updated traditional-sounding English folk. Nice and dramatic use of vocals and dynamics making it a stand-out number. For the CD, there is a bonus track with a US single release of "Rock & Roll Stew" that has an extended break in it, but otherwise is not particularly different.

Certainly not a wild rock'n'roll album, but a nice bit of jazz/folk/rock, played and sang by some of the best of the time.

Little Willie John - Complete Hit Singles A's and B's

Little Willie John was an R&B singer in the 50's/early 60's who had several hits with songs like "All Around the World", "Need Your Love So Bad" and "Fever". This 2-CD collection has these and tons more, covering a good portion of his career, which was unfortunately cut short in 1968 by a heart attack while in jail for manslaughter. A colorful character indeed!

His soulful take on "All Around the World" opens here, followed by an earnestly rendered "Don't Leave Me Dear" and the bluesy hit "Need Your Love So Bad". More groovy blues in "Home at Last" which leads into his fantastic "Fever". "Letter From My Darling" is slow, sultry ballad, as is "Do Something For Me" and then "My Nerves" is more jumpin', with cool horns and a swingin' beat. He gets a bit mellower with the doo-wop-ish hit "Talk To Me, Talk To Me", wilder in the early rock'n'roll of "Spasms", back to quiet in "You're a Sweetheart" and boppin' again in "Let's Rock While the Rockin's Good". More strong blues in "Tell It Like It Is", r'n'r in "Don't Be Afraid to Call My Name", "Leave My Kitten Alone" could've easily been a Coasters hit and CD one closes with another soulful ballad, "Let Nobody Love You".

With CD 2 we get into some later stuff, which generally - not always - gets a bit more sweet'n'smooth, as with the string-laden "Let Them Talk" and while "Right There" is a bit more upbeat, it is also covered with backing vocals, rendering it less strident. Another string ballad in "A Cottage For Sale", but then we get the fantastic, start'n'stop blues wailer "I'm Shakin'" that the Blasters had to pull out for themselves back in the early 80's. This feel continues in "Heartbreak", that also has some church-y organ and a wild sax break, and then "Do You Love Me" is positively frantic, with stutterin' vocals and poundin' piano backing another cool sax solo. Back to the sappy schmaltz in "Sleep" with its strings and roller-rink keys, a bit of doo-wop/early r'n'r/r'n'b influence in "There's a Difference" and "Walk Slow", some more blues with stingin' guitar work in "You Hurt Me", more pop ballads in "The Very Thought of You" and "I'm Sorry" and a bit of smooth-edged R'n'B in "Spring Fever". The strings are almost overpowering in "Flamingo", but "Now You Knows" fairs better as a slow-but-steady r'n'b number and the whole comp finishes with a cool rocker "Take My Love".

I didn't really know LWJ other than "Fever" before this, but although there are a few snoozers here, overall this is a fine R'n'B collection of a gent with a sweet, soulful voice that could croon or belt 'em out with the best. Totally worthwhile!

The Super Zeroes and Electric Ferrets at the Double Down, Saturday Feb 13, 2016

LA's way-out punk/garage rockers the Electric Ferrets have reunited and to honor the occasion, former Electric Ferret/current Super Zero Santo Kevin brought them out to Vegas for their first reunion show at Vegas's version of Al's Bar or Rajis, the Double Down Saloon.

The Super Zeroes opened the night with their own Marvel-esque brand super-hero rock'n'roll - a mix of punk, pop and rock and songs about the Incredible Hulk and their own re-make of the Spiderman theme. Their rhythm section has changed since the last time that I saw them and they are tighter and work more with dynamics and guitar tones. Dug the little "homages" to Nugent and the Dictators in a couple of the numbers.

The Electric Ferrets are now Greg (vocals) and Flying Ike (guitar/vocals) along with new rhythm section Todd (bass) and Gizz (drums) and are also tighter and more cohesive than ever before - but still crazy fun and silly punk-rock with garage overtones. I recognized some of the older numbers - "Into My Brain", "Elvis is King", "2-3-4", etc. - and they did a couple of high-energy covers like "Wichita Lineman", "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds", and the 60' classic "Voices Green and Purple" (which they meld with Kiss' "Detroit Rock City" somehow - but it works!). The rhythm section smokes, Ike is playing and sounding better than ever and Greg is still a wildman on stage, though, as with us all, he has slowed down a little - but just a little! The new songs fit in fine, like "Is There Another Day" (with some cool 7th chords) and the surfy "Ride the Wave", where Ike rocked out some "Miserlou" licks and Greg passed out stickers and CDs to the audience.

Welcome back to the Electric Ferrets and hope they continue on! I'm sure they will be back in Vegas again so check 'em out. Thanks to the Super Zeroes and the Double Down for another rockin' night!

The Swamp Gospel, the Psyatics, Sector 7G at the Dive Bar, Friday Feb 12, 2016

A night of local bands at the Dive Bar - 3 bands, a sane start time, cheap drinks, good food- a good combination. Unfortunately, apparently every band in town had a show this same night, so it was a bit slow, but still had some die-hard supporters, new fans and even dancing girls!


The Swamp Gospel opened, as usual, and had a good time on the club's new expanded stage and PA - good place for bands to play - and with a real soundman - this evening Bob sat in for the regular John.

Our pals the Psyatics took the stage with a smokin' cover of the Velvet Underground's "I Can't Stand It Any More" and then moved on to some of their best from their two cds. Always a rollickin' good time with these cats and the audience dug their swingin' sounds.

Closing the night was Sector 7G, a self proclaimed "aggressive punk rock"/hard core band that, unfortunately, had a number of technical difficulties for one reason or another, which gave them a slow start. Not normally my cup of strychnine, but they were tight and, indeed, aggressive - but were nice people, too!

Another fun night at the Dive Bar and, I gotta say - I recommend the pizza! Thanks to Pulsar, Nate, Angie, Bob and all of the Dive Bar crew!

The Two Tens - Volume

I've been putting off reviewing this CD after I got it at their show here in Vegas a few weeks ago because their sound really is kinda hard to describe. A guitar/drum duo (with some extra instruments on the record and a splitter on stage sending the guitar signal through both a guitar and bass amp) featuring Adam Bones on vocals and guitar and Rikki Styxx on drums/backing vocals, they kick up quite a melodic punk rock storm in a live setting and this record does a good job of capturing it. But, it's way more than just "punk pop" - punky and melodic, yes, but with r'n'r riffs, variety and dynamics.

The rip-roarin' "Scene" opens up with an almost Ramones-ian blast of high energy with some cool harmonies'n'catchiness. "Ella Don't Like My Hat" is a bit of garagey new wave, "Watching Me" slows down a bit for a pounding two chord stomper, while "Sweet As Pie" continues with more highly-melodic punk - Adam harmonies and does a call'n'answer with himself here - and we even get a (very short) guitar solo! I find it hard to describe the slow but steady rockin' of "Dreams" - almost slightly ska-like - with its layered vocals and guitar riffn'. They get positively frantic in "Rush Out", but maintain the tunefulness - and another wild guitar lead! - but are back in mid-tempo territory (no problem there!) with "Care At All".

There's chant-along punk rock in "Life", bubblegum coolness'n'angst in "I Can't Win", garage rock with cool starts'n'stops in "You Want It All", pure pop-punk in "Can't Pull Through" and then close out with a slow, atmospheric, new-wavey "Breathe".

Fun band, great live act and they even seem like nice people! Check 'em out whenever ya can!

recommended gigs

Thursday Feb 11 - Cash'd Out, the All Togethers, the Henchmen, Gamblers Mark, Yosemite Slam at Triple B

Friday Feb 12 - the Psyatics with the Swamp Gospel and Sector 7G at the Dive Bar

Saturday Feb 13 - Van der Rohe, the Hexxers, the Desperadoes at Artifice
Saturday Feb 13 - the Rhyolite Sound at Saddles and Spurs
Saturday Feb 13 - the Unwieldies at the Dillinger
Saturday Feb 13 - The Electric Ferrets with the Super Zeroes at the Double Down
Saturday Feb 13 - David Bowie tribute at the Bunkhouse

Tuesday Feb 16 - the Supersuckers, the Yawpers, Chickenhawk, Alex and His Meal Tickets at Triple B

Wednesday Feb 17 - Beau Hodges Band at Saddles'n'Spurs

Friday Feb 19 - Toasters, Scoundrels at the Dive Bar
Friday Feb 19 - Swank Bastards at the Double Down
Friday Feb 19 - the All Togethers at Triple George
Friday Feb 19 - Franks'n'Deans at the Hard Rock

Saturday Feb 20 - Alan Six with Jerk, Radio Silence Jess and the Hogg Brothers at the Double Down

Monday Feb 22- Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday Feb 23 - the Mapes, Pluralses, Jerk at the Beauty Bar

Wed Feb 24 - Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Friday Feb 26 - the Lucky Cheats at the Beauty Bar for Johnny Cash B-day celebration

Saturday Feb 27 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Feb 27 - the All Togethers at the Pioneer Saloon

Monday Feb 29 - Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday Mar 2 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast with the Fink Bombs at the Double Down

Friday Mar 4 - the Punknecks at the Dive Bar
Friday Mar 4 - the Part Time Criminals and the Unwieldies at the Sand Dollar
Friday Mar 4 - James Intveld with the Delta Bombers and the Ditch Diggers at Triple B

Saturday Mar 5 - Eddy Bear and the Cubs at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Mar 5 - the All Togethers, Legendary Boilermakers, Water Landing at Bonnie Springs Ranch - starts at 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sunday Mar 6 - The Peculiar Pretzelmen at the Golden Tiki
Sunday Mar 6 - Pussyrama with the Pussyrammers at the Double Down

Monday Mar 7 - Eddy Bear and the Cubs with Jackson Taylor and the Sinners at the Beauty Bar

Sunday Mar 13 - the Koffin Kats and the Scoundrels at the Dive Bar

Friday Mar 18, The Swamp Gospel, Melanie and the Midnite Marauders, the Gentlemen of Four Outs and the Psyatics at the Double Down

Saturday Mar 19 - the Queers and the Dwarves at the LV Country Saloon

Wednesday Mar 23 - the Two Tens at the Beauty Bar

Friday April 8 - the Gentlemen of Four Outs at the Golden Tiki

Friday April 15 - the Gentlemen of Four Outs with Melanie and the Midnite Marauders at the Hard Hat

Saturday May 14 - the New Waves at the Pioneer Saloon

Monday May 28 - Joan Jett at Fremont Street Experience

What have I forgotten? Lemme know

The Great Society with Grace Slick

While this short-lived group only released one single ("Somebody to Love") during its career, after Grace's fame with the Jefferson Airplane, a couple more releases appeared with live cuts from shows at the Matrix. I do not have the CD that combines two albums, but just one piece of vinyl and it has some great items on it!

Formed by Grace's then husband Jerry on drums and his brother Darby on guitar, they also included David Minor on guitar and Bard DuPont on bass. While not nearly as strong musically as the Airplane, this group mined similar styles and obviously also had a folk background.

The record that I have opens with the classic folk tune "Sally Go Round the Roses" which proves just how powerful Grace's voice already was, while the song itself has a nice, hypnotic, psychedelic feel, with some quiet keyboards and a raga-rock solo. More forceful vocals in the pretty "Didn't Think So" and the riff-laden "Grimly Forming", a song that LA's Salvation Army covered in the early 80's at the beginning of the local garage revival. The embryonic version of "Somebody to Love" isn't nearly as fully formed - or as rockin' - as the Airplane's later hit, but it does show that Grace had the essential elements all there and just needed the group that would pull it all together. "Father Bruce" is a relatively unremarkable but fun ode to Lenny Bruce and they cover Dylan with his "Outlaw Blues". There is something about "Often As I May" that I find captivatingly exquisite - a spine-tingling and superb vocal delivery by Grace, sexy lyrics and a driving, dynamic performance from the group. For whatever reason, one of my favorite tunes from Grace. On the other hand, "Arbitration", while not bad, is fairly undistinguished and sung by David (I believe), whose voice is competent but nothing special. The final track is an even more psychedelic "White Rabbit", intro'd by what I assume is sometimes 6th member Peter van Gelder's saxophone which does then lead into the tune that and basic arrangement that we all know and love.

As I said, not as instrumentally or harmonically mature as the Airplane was even at its inspection, the Great Society nonetheless had some fine songs and Grace is a wonder for the ears. Worth checking out!

Jefferson Airplane Takes Off

With the recent deaths of Paul and Signe (original female singer on this album), I have been revisiting my JA collection - such as it is - and this debut, while including Signe and not Grace, shows the band essentially fully formed, with their trademark sound pretty much intact. Yes, they sound younger and more innocent, but the 12-string jangles and intricate harmonies abound and some of these songs stayed with them for their entire career and are among their best.

"Blues From An Airplane" is  a good example of this - slow-to-mid tempo, an excellent, catchy melody, with an emphasis on dynamics and vocals, it shows the band truly ready to "take off". Jorma and Jack (lead and bass) get to show off a bit more in the drivin' "Let Me In", a proclamation of desire and anger at a woman, followed by "Bringing Me Down" - seems like someone was having woman troubles at this point! Still, the classic sounds continue and "It's No Secret" is one of their best - the 12 string(s) carry the rhythm, and the incredibly memorable melody is augmented by more terrific harmonies. Their take on "Tobacco Road" changes it up fairly dramatically, taking it from the garage-rock stomper of their contemporaries into their own folk-rock number.

It seems that many men in the 60's scene were fascinated by under-age girls and here Balin and Kantner give their own beautiful paean to a lovely minor that they at least had the decently to walk away from in "Come Up the Years". The finger-picking that opens up "Run Around" and the inclusion of the Kingston Trio's (also a hit by the Youngbloods) "Let's Get Together" really show off their folkie roots - and gives Signe a bit more of a spotlight, though shared with Kantner and Balin. Jorma's guitar gets a bit more attention in the gorgeous "Don't Slip Away" and Signe gets front'n'center with her lead on Memphis Minnie's "Chauffeur Blues", that also includes some cool guitar licks. The record closed with a folk/blues number, "And I Like It" - nice, but not nearly as memorable as the rest of the album.

Still, what a debut! Signe doesn't stand out as much as Grace later did - I can only assume that Grace had a more powerful personality - but she does have a fine voice and her harmonies are spot on. Great record!

Howlin' King Crawdad at Saddles'n'Spurs - Tues Feb 9, 2016

Since we did not have a chance to get around to making our traditional gumbo or etouffee this year, we needed to do something to celebrate Mardi Gras and went down the street'n'around the corner to our local honky-tonk, Saddles'n'Spurs to check our Vegas' own "twisted Zydeco" band, Howlin' King Crawdad.

We arrived as the band was completing their first set by bringing in the revelers to the dance floor to wear masks and play percussion as they called for the "king" to arrive, who then led them on a carnival conga line out the bar and - apparently - around the block, as they all disappeared for a good 15-20 minutes! But, they all certainly seemed to have a good time!

For their second set, the band, consisting of acoustic and electric guitar, bass, drums, mandolin, washboard and, of course, accordion, did indeed play plenty of traditional and not-so-traditional zydeco music, with plenty of escapades abounding. The "King" - lead singer and accordionist - told jokes, sang bawdy tales and danced around the audience and the club while playing, giving plenty of visual amusement to go along with the music. Just before we left for the night, they brough up a couple more horn players to join the mandolinist, who moved to trombone, for a New Orleans stomp through "When the Saints Come Marchin' In".

Definitely dun stuff and I don't know where else in Vegas you're going to see live Zydeco, but I'd be interested if anyone knows! Check out this crew for a good time, though!

The Blasters, the Sin City Ditch Diggers, the Royal Hounds, Shanda and the Howlers at Triple B, Friday Feb 5, 2016

Great night for the Triple B with a great line up of local acts opening for the legendary Blasters!

First up was the relative newcomers, Shanda and the Howlers, featuring Shanda (natch) from the Shandaleers, Luke of the Lucky Cheats, Trevor from the Part Time Criminals (and many other projects), sax-man Micah and drummer Keith. While they have only been playing out a few months, their set is now mostly originals mixing 50's/60's jump blues, soul and rock'n'roll. Shanda has a terrific, powerful voice, Trevor has a wonderful guitar tone, Micah wails and Luke and Keith keep the beat swingin' for your dancin' pleasure! Some stuff kinda reminded me of old Southside Johnny and the Asbury Dukes material, but all was great, with call'n'answer vocals, plenty of dynamics, cool pauses, key changes and even a wailin' take on the Sonics' "Shot Down". Definitely one of my new fave bands in town!

The Royal Hounds followed with their slick showmanship and rockin' riffs, even with Keith from the Howlers sitting in on drums as a last minute replacement. Fun stuff like covers of "I Love Paris" and "Surfin' Bird"/"Train Kept a-Rollin'" and originals like "I'm in Love With a Zombie" all while boppin' around the stage in their highly animated way and even throwing around the stand-up bass.

The Sin City Ditch Diggers got the coveted slot right before the Blasters but was unfortunately plagued with sound issues that didn't appear to be there fault. Eventually things got worked out, but it did mess with their momentum, even if they handled it like pros and made the best of the situation. Think there were some new songs this evening and they did get the crowd up'n'dancin'!

While I miss Dave Alvin's playing and charisma, the Blasters are still a force to be reckoned with and lead guitarist Keith Wyatt is a monster player. Of course, Phil's voice and rhythm playing remains excellent and Bill'n'John on drums'n'bass give an incredible drivin' backbeat to the tunes that, I think, give the songs their power'n'style. I certainly can't imagine the band without them! The set list seems pretty much the same as the last couple times they've been out here (3 times within a year, I believe - that's gotta be a record for a touring band coming to Vegas!) - "Long White Cadillac", "Border Radio", "Dark Night", the ultra-groovy start'n'stop of "I'm Shakin'", the harp tunes "Hear Me Cryin'" and "Goodbye Baby, So Long", "Daddy Rollin' Stone", "American Music", "Marie Marie" and plenty more! They can move from slow, sizzlin' blues, to mid-tempo guitar workouts (Keith was particularly impressive this night), to frantic rockers and never lose their touch or lose the audience. True professionals and another truly great set!

Gotta also give kudos to DJ's Lucky LaRue and Big Daddy for keepin' the tunes and the feet flying in between the live acts. Cool night all around - thanks Triple B!