Rich's R'n'R Rants & Raves: 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!