Friday, September 29, 2017

Thee Fourgiven, The Laissez Fairs, The Jackets, the Darts at the Bunkhouse, Thursday Sept 28,2017


About 6 months ago promoter Brian Moy told me that he was bringing the Jackets out from Switzerland for one of his Dirty r'n'r Dance Party shows. I immediately proposed that we could do a Thee Fourgiven reunion so that we could play this show with our old friend/fan Chris, who is now living in Switzerland and playing with the Jackets. In the ensuing months there was some confusion and we got bumped to the opening slot, but we were still pleased to play with these awesome bands.

Although we played quite early (for Vegas) we still got a number of local friends to come out as well as fans from across the country! After playing last weekend in Phoenix, we were a little more warmed up'n'tighter and had a great, rockin' time rantin'n'ravin' for the early arrivals and the other bands.


(above photo by Nikki Ruffling, below by Brian Moy)


The Laissez Fairs followed with their original brand of jangly psych-pop and entertained the folks that appeared by this time. This old man listened from outside as I was regaining my breath and cooling down after our physically taxing set.

Then, one of the main events - the incredible Swiss garage monsters, the Jackets! Led by singer/guitarist/madwoman Jackie, she is backed by Mosrite-driven bassist/singer Sam and crazed drummer/singer Chris (ex-the Get Lost and the Foot Foot Three). Their garage rock'n'roll style is highly distinctive and primordial, with pounding rhythms, plenty of fuzz and melodic shrieks'n'screams galore. Jackie is one of the most individualistic front persons I have ever seen, coaxing wild sounds from her guitar while she stalks the stage and throws herself around like a ballerina on acid or a demented marionette with tangled strings. Amazing songs from their various releases and a frantic cover of the Wailers' "Hang Up". Jackie even managed to gather the relatively small (but growing) audience together so that she could crowd-surf! They are right up there with the Schizophrenics as one of my favorite current garage'n'roll bands!



















Also right up there is the dazzlin' dames of garage rock, the Darts, who then took over the stage and captivated the devotees for the rest of the evening. Excellent set consisting of tunes from their assorted records, including their newest full-length CD, Me.Ow. Nicole had a lot to live up to as a front person after Jackie's performance, but she pulled out all of the stops as she wandered the stage, strangled her fellow band mates and wrestled her Farfisa to the ground and conquered it! Always a great time with the Darts and a terrific way to end the night!













Thank you again to Brian Moy and the Dirty Rock'n'Roll Dance Party for another amazing show!

Thursday, September 28, 2017

recommended gigs

Thursday Sept 28 - Thee Fourgiven reunion show with the Darts, the Jackets (from Switzerland) and the Laissez Fairs at the Bunkhouse

Friday Sept 29 - Shanda and the Howlers at Evel Pie
Friday Sept 29 - Midnight Clover at Adrenaline

Wed Oct 4 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast with Dr. Phobic at the Double Down

Thursday Oct 5 - the Black Widows (all female from Minneapolis - not the evil instro group from LA) and Hastings 3000 at the Double Down

Fri Oct 6 - Monk and the Po Boys host the Blues Society Jam at the BUnkhouse

Saturday Oct 7 - Melanie and the Midnite Marauders, the Psyatics, The Legendary Boilermakers, Water Landing at the Double Down for Nikki's birthday

Sunday Oct 8 - the return of the Gentlemen of Four Outs' Booze Brunch at the Golden Tiki

Saturday Oct 14 - Bob Dylan at the Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan
Saturday Oct 14 - The Rhyolite Sound and the Reeves Brothers at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Oct 14 - The Unwieldies at the Dillinger

Wednesday Oct 18 - the Bronx at the Bunkhouse
Wednesday Oct 18 - Le DomiNiki, The Babe Rainbow, Maybird, Orange Kite at the Beauty Bar

Sat Oct 21 - the Peculiar Pretzlemen with the New Waves and the Implosions at the Huntridge Tavern

Tues Oct 24 - Genitorturers at the Dive Bar

Friday Oct 27 - the Messer Chups, Boss Martians, Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Saturday Oct 28 - Agent Orange, the Heroine, Sheiks of Neptune, the Psyatics at the Beauty Bar

Tues Oct 31 - Bob Log III with the return of Prophet Greene at the Dive Bar

Friday Nov 3 - Shanda and the Howlers host the Blues Society Jam Night at the Sand Dollar
Friday Nov 3 - Broken Patron Saints, the Wolfhounds, the Super Zeroes, Lambs to Lion at the Dive Bar

Wednesday Nov 8 - the Sloths at the Dive Bar

Thursday Nov 9 - The Dead Boys (Cheetah Chrome and Johnny Blitz) at the Beauty Bar

Friday Nov 10 - The Delta Bombers, Shanda and the Howlers and the Inside Outlaws at the Bunkhouse

Saturday Nov 11 - the return of the Swamp Gospel with Water Landing and more at the Double Down

Thursday Nov 16 - Boris with Torche at the Bunkhouse

Saturday Nov 18 - Gwar at Fremont Country Club

Wednesday Nov 22 - Barb Wire Dolls, Svetlanas, '57 at the Beauty Bar

Friday Nov 24 - The Heiz at the Double Down

Saturday Nov 25 - The Heiz at the Double Down

Saturday Dec 2 - The Swamp Gospel and the Psyatics at the Huntridge Tavern

Saturday Dec 16 - The Swamp Gospel at the Double Down


What have I forgotten? Lemme know

RIP Hugh Hefner

Playboy founder Hugh Hefner dead at 91 
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I always thought that he looked pretty square, but I can't deny his impact on 60's counter culture and he definitely did support the r'n'r scene. He had a life, that's for sure!

Monday, September 25, 2017

Thee Fourgiven, the Freaks of Nature, Kevin Daly at the Grand Ave Brewing Co, Phoenix, Az, Saturday Sept 23, 2017

I know it's normally against my rule to write about outta town shows, but since I played and this is my blog, here we are!

Thee Fourgiven are currently playing a few reunion shows (30 years since our big European tours!) in each member's current home towns. Bela, our drummer, now lives in the Phoenix area and with a bit of finagling, cool cat and local legend Kevin Daly was able to pull off this underground gig in the yet-to-be-opened Grand Ave. Brewing Co. Cool space, great people, excellent bands and word of mouth got a few dozen people out to check out the scene!




Kevin Daly was gracious enough to open the night with his three piece combo blasting through some rockabilly/Americana-inspired rock'n'roll with excellent, swingin' drums (Dave),  fiery, slappin' stand-up bass (Chay) and, of course, Daly's biting guitar work. Songs like "Rednecks, White Sox, Blue Ribbon Beer" and "Mutant Daddy" extol the virtues of desert living to a rockin' back beat. Great stuff!




The Freaks of Nature are a new (ish) garage combo that have returned from a hiatus with a smokin' line-up of Dave (again) on drums (with a completely different style - frantic, garage bashin' this time, as is completely appropriate for this group), James on bass, new cat Jacob on lead guitar and frontman Daniel. Their sound is thrashin', fast'n'raucous garage punk that was like an original mix of the Untold Fables, Gravedigger V, Miracle Workers, Unclaimed and the Raunch Hands! Pretty freakin' amazing! Covers like "Social End Product" and "Bad Girl" (that Ray and I used to cover in the Unclaimed!) blend in with their own numbers for a classic sound that still just sounds like the FoN! Right up there with the best of the new batch of garage groups. They're doing some touring, so dig 'em whenever you can!








Thee Fourgiven had some equipment issues and maybe we could use a little more practice (after a 30 year lay-off), but we still had a blast playing to the folks who hung out and did our best to make it an experience. Always a good time to play with Ray'n'Bela and we will be appearing in Las Vegas this coming Thursday and back in our old stompin' grounds of LA on Saturday! Come out if you can!