The Surfrajettes, the Greasy Gills and the Hypnotiques at the Bunkhouse, Tuesday August 6, 2019

The Surfrajettes have been making waves (hah!) in the international surf scene with their hip sound and groovy 60's look - bouffant hairdos, go-go boots and matching silver mini dresses - so when we heard that Dirty R'n'R Dance Party was bringing them to Vegas, we had to check 'em out! Fresh from the Surf Guitar 101 Convention and right before they hit Tiki Oasis, they made their stop here to bring some (sound) waves to the desert.

Locals The Hypnotiques opened up the night with their original mix of native Hawaiian music (singer / ukulele-player Kitty and guitarist Brent are from the island state), rockabilly, surf, country, soul, lounge, jazz and whatever else they decide to throw in their blender! With drummer-about-town Clay Heximer and stand-up bassist Robert driving the backbone, they swing'n'sway through a eclectic set that fits right in at places like the Golden Tiki or, as in this evening, opening for a couple of surf combos. Kitty has a fine voice (not unlike Imelda May) and the musicians are all superior - nice stuff!

 

In between sets, we got swingin' sounds from DJ Professor Rex Dart - always a treat! (And thanks for the drink, buddy!)

I had never even heard about Oakland's Greasy Gills (can't say that I love the name, either), but they were a ferocious surprise when they hit the stage and powered through a wild set up surf-styled tunes. With an insanely talented, female rhythm section - a monster drummer and a riffin' bassist - and a (male) guitarist with perfect tone and flashin' fingers, the Gills packed the house with frantic fans. All hip tunes and they closed with a super-high-energy "Rumble"-based medley. Wow!

(above - Dirty R'n'R's Brian Moy)

The Gills' excellent set was certainly a tough act to follow but the much-anticipated Surfrajettes put on their best bouffants'n'go-go boots, plugged in, turned up the reverb and stormed through their own selection of originals'n'covers - some surf standards, some instro takes of 60's numbers like "I Had Too Much to Dream", "She Loves You", "Paint It Black" (in a medley with "Pipeline"), "For Your Love", "Train Kept A-Rollin"", "Funnel Of Love" and even Inna Gadda Da Vida" mixed with "Sunshine of Your Love"! While not as wildly proficient as the Greasy Gills, these ladies were totally solid, with rockin' rhythms and some really hip dual guitar action. 

Being a weeknight and with the show running a bit later than we had expected, we headed home before the 'Jettes were completely through, but this was an excellent night of swingin' surf and other assorted exotica sounds! Thanks again to Brian and the Dirty R'n'R Dance Party for bringing these hip acts to town!