Les Grys Geys, the Van der Rohe and the Nite Times at the Griffin, Wednesday, August 23, 2017

France's Les Grys Grys were apparently the hit of this year's Tiki Oasis (which we weren't able to make it to) so Las Vegas's own garage combo, the Van der Rohe, set up a show for them in town as they trample through the west coast on their first trip to the States. The Griffin specializes in Wednesday night shows, so this was a perfect spot for this 60's takeover.

Friends of the VdR from Covina, California, the Nite Times, opened the show with their own brand of high energy garage/surf/frat rock with great songs, surfy, staccato guitar lines and fuzzy wildness. Their odd line up of guitar, bass drums and percussionist/backing vocalist (the bassist took the lead vocals) was full and frantic, filled with fine musicianship and they even threw in a cover of "Gloria"! (The 2nd garage band [the Sloths being the other] that I've seen do that this month!) Unfortunately, the PA was not up to snuff at this point in the night (obviously, no fault of the band), so the vocals were buried, but I certainly dug what they were doing and hope to see them again soon!

Vegas' post-teen garage rockers, the Van der Rohe, took the stage next and delivered a unrestrained set of ravin' riff-rockers, chord-stompers, and garage shouters. They pulled out tunes from their smokin' EP, along with newer originals, 60's covers (doing one of the same songs the Nite Times did!) and other reckless abandonment! There were tempo changes, rips from other songs (I detected hints of "What a Way to Die"), a lead vocal from guitarist Cromm and their "Black to Comm" styled raver, "Shake", that closes their set. Drummer Omar and relatively new bassist Alethia keep the backbeat groovin' while singer Will takes over the stage, swingin' his mic stand, sweatin'n'shoutin'! Always a fuzz-drenched good time!

Travelin' to the States for the first time, Les Grys Grys were the talk to Tiki O, due to their Pretty Things-like R'n'B/garage mania. With two guitars, bass, drums and harmonica, their 60's sound is definitely driven by the likes of the Pretties, the Stones, the Yardbirds, Q65 and the (Dutch) Outsiders, with covers from these groups and more with steamy stamina to spare! Very much like the Tell Tale Hearts in the 80's, they even covered some of the same numbers the Hearts used to do ("Bad Thing", "Cry in the Night", "I Got Nightmares") though, of course, with their own brand stamped onto everything. They had the packed crowd dancin'n'flailin' about for their whole set!

Thanks to the Griffin for hosting the night, the Van der Rohe for setting everything up, and the Nite Times and Grys Grys for some amazing garage rock'n'roll!