The Gizmos at the Outer Limits Stroh-Down, Detroit, Michigan, Saturday July 27, 2019

Geography always makes it tough for the Gizmos - who are literally spread from coast to coast - to play reunion shows, but we made it to Detroit for the Outer Limits Lounge's 1st Annual Summer Stroh-Down. The Outer Limits is a terrifically hip dive bar in the Hamtramck area, which itself is a cool section of the city that is culturally mixed with mom'n'pop shops everywhere (a wonderful experience, coming from Las Vegas, land of the big-box stores), great restaurants and super architecture. Once we got there we wished we had allotted ourselves a lot more time to explore the city, but "real life" and our bank account limits what we can do and for how long. We definitely want to get back, though!

In any case, Melanie and I got into town late afternoon/early evening on Friday the 26th and after getting settled in our BnB, we walked the mile or so down the road, diggin' the Hamtramck scene, to the Outer Limits and arrived in between bands. We found Eddie Gizmos and talked a bit before catching the Sueves, a kinda poppy/glam/pub rock-ish trio with lots of late 70's punky influences from Eddie and the Hot Rods to the Undertones to the Saints and plenty more. All cool players, especially the hard drivin' drummer, and plenty of cool vocals'n'melodies. Really fun stuff!

The Gizmos met Timmy from Timmy's Organism at Goner Fest a few years back and have been meaning to hook up in Detroit at some point ever since then so we were glad that this fest came together for both of us. His trio is a punk-fueled 70's hard rock combo with super heavy guitar (via Timmy), some glam direction and even some Hawkwind sounds (at least to my ears). Dug it a lot and they put on a rockin' show, as well, and had the place packed with lots of girls dominating the first couple of rows! Local rock stars, to be sure!

By this time our travel was catching up to us and we split before Thomas Jefferson Slave Apts hit the stage, but had a chance to say hi to Kenne Highland (who got in even later than us and took a nap before coming by the club) and a few other Bostonian friends of Kenne's who were also playing in town this weekend.

The next morning we all met the Gizmos drummer for the gig, Chuck from the Stools, for the first time and sauntered over to a practice house down the street from the club (thank you to John for setting this up, Andrew from Tin Foil for letting us use your equipment and Tara for putting up with us invading your Saturday morning!). Due to conflicting schedules, out regular drummer and guitarist, Kelsey and Sam, couldn't make it, nor could original Giz Ted Niemic, but we managed to rock the stream-lined, 2-guitar-bass-drums version of the band (me'n'Kenne on gits, Melanie on bass, Chuck on drums and Eddie on vox). Chuck did his homework and we had a great rehearsal with him nailing all the songs the first time through! Thanks to Eddie for finding Chuck and thanks to Chuck for sitting in!

Back to the Outer Limits to drop off our guitars and we caught a few minutes of Ultimate Ovation, a fantastically soulful group with three singers and a crack group of musicians behind them. Unfortunately, we were trying to see some of the city and get some food so we couldn't stick around for them, but what a start to the day!

Melanie and I did manage to get across town and due to Melanie's sweet nature, we were able to join a tour of the amazing Motown Museum, where the woman that Melanie spoke with was a hip, tattoo'd young lady who dug my Sonic's Rendezvous Band t-shirt and mentioned seeing Patti Smith around town recently! In any case, the tour was phenomenal and chill-inducing, especially the studio, where we were allowed to take some photos, including the drum kit that Stevie Wonder once used, the control room (via a window) and Dennis Coffey's ("Scorpio") guitar! Truly thrilling - up there with the Sun Studios tour and highly recommended to anyone who comes to town!

For multiple reasons we weren't able to get a solid night's sleep on Friday so after some terrific vegetarian Mexican food (Hamtramck had fantastic food options with a plethora of veggie options) and a nap, we headed back to the club. We stopped at the Hamtramck Disneyland along the way (photos on my Facebook page) and thankfully got back to the Outer Limits in time to see Outer Limits' bartender Andrew transform into rock star Andrew as he fronted the incredible Tin Foil - another mix of 70's hard rock'n'glam, this time with a healthy dose of psych and a bit of Voidoids noize blended in. They looked great and sounded awesome - and I had to pick up their album, so more on them when I have a moment.

Jack Oblivion was up next with local Memphis legends the Sheiks backing him up, creating a monster of a soulful garage punk combo that was super high energy, super tight and super fantastic. Jack and the Sheiks' guitarist locked into some terrific dual leads, the drummer'n'bass were smokin' throughout and the sax added a hip soul/Sonics sound to the malstrom. Opening with the Oblivions "Trouble" (which Las Vegas noise/garagers, the Psyatics, cover), they blasted through a super fun set with some surprises like a punky version of "Clones" ("here's an old Alice Cooper number", making me think they were gonna do something from Pretties For You!), an odd country punk tune and a super sonic take on Televisions' "See No Evil" combined with their own terrific tunes. They jammed-packed the show room and put smiles on everyone's dancin' faces the entire time. Truly one of the best shows I've seen in quite a while! They even got the MC of the night, Stroh-Man (the fest was sponsored by Stroh's Beer), up and joinin' in on the action!

We had no idea how the Gizmos were going to follow that bit of rock'n'roll mania, but those were the cards that we were dealt and persevere we must. Chuck was ready to go before any of us - despite his young age, he's a trained professional at this point with plenty of touring and some major shows (like opening for the Raconteurs to 5000 people just a couple of weeks previous) under his belt. The club remained filled for our set and we took off with the newest anthem "21st Century Gizmos Fans" (appropriate for this evening!) and tore through damn near everything that we know, outside of Ted's songs. It was a stripped-down band, for sure, but it sounded great - the sound man did a fine job all weekend long - and powerful with Melanie'n'Chuck locking in to hold things together. We wasted no time throughout it all and after our first-EP sing-along, "Muff Divin'", we did our Detroit-appropriate medley of the MC5's take on "Ramblin' Rose" and their wild jam "Black to Comm". The crowd didn't wanna let us go so with no planning, we ran through a wild'n'noisy take on the Stooges "Real Cool Time" (since we were all having one) and called it a night.

(live Gizmos pix by Gee Julie, all the rest by me)

Everyone at the Outer Limits was fantastic, especially owner/promoter John Szymanski, and the place is super hip, with a nice outside patio out back and huge upstairs green room, the drinks are cheap and they had great food all weekend long, as well. There's a limit to what the Gizmos can do as these shows always end up costing us well more than we make, but festivals like these make it all worthwhile! Hopefully, John will continue this tradition! Support him, the Outer Limits and his band, the Hentchmen!

Be sure to look for a more complete Stroh-Down review from Eddie Flowers (as he was around for almost all of the bands) in the next issue of Vulcher!

recommended gigs

Friday July 26 - Johnny Zig and the Force at the Gold Mine Tavern

Saturday July 27 - the Hypnotiques at Tiki di Amore
Saturday July 27 - the Heroine with Dead Money and Water Landing at the Dive Bar

Sunday July 28 - the Hyponotiques at the Clark County Library 2 pm

Wednesday July 31 - the Reeves Brothers at Saddle'n'Spurs
Wednesday bJuly 31 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday August 1 - Elvis Costello and Blondie at the Palms

Friday August 2 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki
Friday August 2 - Von Kin, Free LSDBad Trip, Desert Island Boys at the Bunkhouse

Saturday August 3 - Buddy Guy at the House of Blues
Saturday August 3 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Golden Tiki
Saturday August 3 - Goldtop Bob at the Sand Dollar

Sunday August 4 - Johnny Zig and the Force hosting the Burly Q Revue at the Double Down

Monday August 5 - Goldtop Bob at Tiki di Amore

Tuesday August 6 - all-female surf from Canada, the Surfrajettes, the Hula Girls and the Hypnotiques at the Bunkhouse

Thursday August 8 - the Fleshtones (NYC's original garage band!), with The Swamp Gospel, Los Tiki Phantoms and the Holy Smokes at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Saturday August 10 - the Unwieldies at the Dillinger

Friday August 16 - the Psyatics with Stagnetti's Cock and Strange Mistress for John Armstrong's birthday at the Double Down

Saturday August 17 - the Mapes, Sheiks of Neptune, No Que No, Los Carajos, Skeleton Crew at the Dive Bar
Saturday August 17 - Wayne Hancock at Evel Pie

Sunday August 18 - George Clinton and Parliment Funkadelic at the Brooklyn Bowl

Tuesday August 20 - the Rhyolite Sound at Hogs'n'Heifers

Wednesday August 21 - Girl Haggard at Saddle'n'Spurs
Wednesday August 21 - Goldtop Bob at the Double Down

Sunday August 25 - Shonen Knife at Vinyl

Friday August 30 - the Tiki Bandits at the Golden Tiki

Sunday Sept 1 - the Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday Sept 3 - LV Blues Society Jam at the Sand Dollar

Tuesday Sept 17 - the Rhyolite Sound at Hogs'n'Heifers

Saturday Sept 21 - Johnny Hootrock with the Vooduo at the Double Down

Saturday Sept 28 - the Psyatics, Water Landing, Big Like Texas, Dead Dolls at the Double Down

Sunday Oct 6 - The Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Friday Oct 18 - US Bombs at the Dive Bar

Saturday Oct 26 - GWAR with Sacred Reich, Toxic Holocaust and Against the Grain at the Fremont Country Club

Sunday Oct 27 - Michael Graves at the Dive Bar

Friday Nov 1 - the Psyatics at the Double Down

Tuesday Nov 5 - Redd Kross with the Melvins and Shitkid at the Bunkhouse

Saturday Dec 7 - Agent Orange with The Psyatics , the Sheiks of Neptune and the Jagoffs at the Dive Bar

What have I forgotten? Lemme know

Camper Van Beethoven with Leaving Springfield at the Brookly Bowl, Tuesday July 23, 2019

Personally, I've never been a big fan of college rock-styled bands like Camper Van Beethoven, but Melanie dug them back in the day so we made the trek to the Brooklyn Bowl to check out the show. BB is a medium/large venue with a great stage, sound and lights and now locals get free, validated parking behind the venue. Its located right off of the Strip which means that we don't get to it very often, but it is a good place to see mid-sized (popularity-wise) groups.

The Bowl often has local bands open up the shows and this evening it was 90's-inspired rock trio Leaving Springfield. They were good at what they do, but I was not a fan of this genre back in the day and am not nostalgic for it today. But, they did get a good response from the sparse crowd that showed up early to catch them.

CVB are not exactly a visual band, but everyone was super solid players (hat tip to the multi instrumentalist violinist/guitarist/keyboardist) as they demonstrated as they ran through a set of favorites from their various records, starting with their hit cover of Status Quo's "Picture of Matchstick Men". At one point, they did an instrumental that combined "Hava Nagila", "Kashmir", "Communication Breakdown" and "Dazed and Confused" while continuing to return to "Hava Nagla". This went on a bit too long for a joke number, but in a way, that kinda (almost) made it funny all over again, in a stoner-humor kinda way (they did talk about taking acid the last time they were in town). One of Mel's favorites, "Turquoise Jewelry", made an appearance, as did "Take the Skinheads Bowling" (naturally), some hard rock parody (?), a song about Jerry Garcia's daughter and the ending, which evolved into a big jam number. Although the club had filled out reasonably well by this time, there wasn't enough response to warrant an encore.

David Lowery came back out to perform a long-ish acoustic number from his solo album and then he brought out the more commercial Cracker, at which point we all ended up making our way out into the night.

I have to admit that the show did not convert me to a Camper Van Beethoven fan, but it was an enjoyable evening out at a comfortable venue.

It Came From Memphis - Robert Gordon

This is another find that I just happened upon - I believe it was recommended somehow (possibly due to diggin' his Muddy Water biography, I Can't Be Satisfied) and since visiting Memphis a few years back, I have been a bit fascinated with the city and its history. Author/filmmaker Gordon (no relation to the rockabilly-throwback singer) is a Memphis native and in this tale he concentrates on little know heroes - vintage DJ's, wrestlers, small-time recording studios, coffee shops and local musicians like Jim Dickinson and Alex Chilton and those who are even more obscure. His hip-speak writing style is entertaining and fast moving and while he sometimes jumps around suddenly to the point of wondering what derailed his train of thought and what track he's on now, he never fails to keep your attention, even as he talks of characters that you are pretty much guaranteed to have never heard of.

Of course, the (now) famous blues pioneers of the area are covered - Mississippi Fred McDowell, Memphis Minnie, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis, Bukka White and more, all of who were idolized by the hip local white kids. These musicians brought the Northerners to town, scouting out to see who was still alive among the old legends. The New York/Memphis connection continued over the years as the weirdos from each town (Memphis also had a San Francisco connection and got Owlsey acid early on) migrated back'n'forth, influencing each town. Naturally, Alex Chilton is an important character and is introduced as the 16 year old singer of the Box Tops, but he returns throughout the tale as he was a major Memphisian right up to his untimely death. As many pages are given to a crazed biker/bouncer or William Eggleston (the photographer) or Isaac Tigrett (founder of the Hard Rock Cafe franchise as well as the House of Blues) or puppeteers or the obscure blues-rock band Moloch (who's claim to fame is that they were the first to record/co-write the classic "Goin' Down") or even Tav Falco (Gustavus Nelson is his real name and he would do performance art before forming the Panther Burns with Chilton).

Innumerable more characters, clubs, studios, musicians, writers, filmmakers and on'n'on complete the tale. I loved the Memphis that I saw in the short time I was there and this book makes me want to go back and explore that much more. Highly recommended!

Rumble - The Indians Who Rocked the World (documentary)

Another cool doc that I've been interested in seeing for a while and that we discovered on the Kanopy streaming service. Named after Link Wray's hit, naturally, the doc discusses the influence of Native Americans in American music - something that should be obvious but is not normally thought of or talked about.

Starting with Link and his immeasurable contribution to rock'n'roll guitar, the film initially goes back in time to the blues and specifically Charlie Patton, who influenced damn near everyone to follow. It is fairly uncanny how similar the melodies that he concocted for his blues mirror Native American melodies and rhythms - again, something that I never really considered before, despite knowing that Patton was part Native.

From there we go through a fairly chronological timeline from jazz/lounge singer Mildred Bailey to Buffy St Marie (who was blacklisted for speaking out about NA issues in the 60's) to Jesse Ed Davis (terrific session musician who worked with damn near everyone) to the Band's Robbie Robertson to Jimi Hendrix to Redbone (their TV appearance on Midnight Special always stuck with me as they opened with a native dance in full regalia) and on through the years. They lose me when they get to hair metal and rap but up until then, it is quite interesting and informative.

Native Americans' contributions to this country in general certainly need to be appreciated and this doc has at least started a conversation about their contribution to our music and culture.

The Psyatics, the Deaddolls, the Negative Nancys - Double Down Saloon, Saturday July 20, 2019

The Psyatics try to get back to the Double Down on a regular - usually monthly - basis and this time out we had a pretty darn solid lineup with two happening local punk rock combos.

Starting the night off right were the Negative Nancys, celebrating drummer Courtney's and lead singer Kate's birthdays and they definitely had plenty of friends'n'fans out to help them party it down! Although lead guitars Kelley had some amp issues (I loaned her mine and it sounded damn good), bassist Ivana told some bad Swank Bastard jokes to fill in the dead spots until they were up'n'runnin' again. Kate'n'Kelley both have good voices that blend together well and harmonize nicely (Kelley does sing lead on a couple of tunes, including one real standout whose title I missed, unfortunately), Courtney is always on point and solid and April is doing a great job of tying everything together while acting like she's having a blast! They are always a fun time and a great beginning to the night, even getting people up'n'dancin'!

 

Got no pix of the Psyatics this time out and it seemed like all of the NN's fans took off after their set and ours was fairly sparsely attended, as it happens at times at the DD. We did our best under the circumstances and powered through a set of old'n'new numbers while trying to put on our version of a r'n'r show. We will return to the DD on FridayAugust 16 for man-about-town John Armstrong's birthday, so mark your calendar!

The Deaddolls is Dirk Vermin's new combo, an unpretentious project of punk rock covers, with songs like "Sonic Reducer" (the punk rock "Louie Louie"), Fear's "I Love Livin' in the City" and "I Don't Care About You" and Manitoba's Wild Kingdom's "You Had It Coming". Stagnetti's Cock's Joe is on lead guitar with Eric'n'Tim on drums'n'bass respectively and they plowed through their set, bringing in more people back to the fold to dig on the punk rock sounds for a proper send off to the night.

Thanks again to the Double Down for being Vegas' punk rock home-away-from-home!