recommended gigs

 Saturday 6-26-21 - Trevor and the Swingin' Johnsons at Tiki di Amore

Monday 6-28-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 7-2-21 - Thee Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 7-3-21 - the Delta Bombers, the New Waves, ITLYTKY at the Usual Place

Saturday 7-3-21 - the Dead Dolls at Rusty Spurs

Monday 7-5-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 7-7-21 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast returned to the Double Down with Green Fuz and more!

Thursday 7-8-21 - Pine Hill Haints at the Dive Bar

Friday 7-9-21 - Thee Swank Bastards, Open Fist, Stagnetti's Cock at the Double Down

Monday 7-12-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 7-17-21 - Franks'n'Deans at the Gravy Train Saloon

Saturday 7-17-21 - the Souvenairs at the Clark County Library - 2:00 pm

Monday 7-19-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 7-23-21 - Shanda and the Howlers at Soul Belly BBQ

Monday 7-26-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 7-30-21 - Junkyard at Vamp'd

Sunday 8-8-21 - the Scoundrels and MondoVermin at the Dive Bar

Saturday 8-21-21 - Metalachi, Los Carajos, Sheiks of Neptune and No Que No at the Dive Bar

Friday 9-3-21 - the Maxies, Franks'n'Deans, the Implosions at the Double Down

Friday 9-24-21 - Sunday 9-26-21 - Punk Rock Bowling Festival

Saturday 9-25-21 - The Darts at Evel Pie with tons of other bands - PRB-related

Friday 10-8-21 - the Dickies with the Sheiks of Neptune at the Dive Bar

Booker T and the MG's - Original Album Series

 

After reading Booker T's fine book, I realized that I had a very limited amount of his music in my collection and this discount, 5-CD set was an easy'n'affordable way to remedy that situation! This no-frills set compiles the group's first five albums with miniature replicas of the original cover artwork and no extra information whatsoever. But if it's simply the music that you're looking for, this is a fine way to get it!

Known for his classic Hammond B-3 sound, Booker was backed by Stax's finest integrated group - Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn on guitar and bass and Al Jackson on drums. Soulful white dudes giving the guitar'n'bass an edge and Booker'n'Al providing the funky rhythms'n'melodies. Al was a seasoned pro by the time the group got together in the Stax studio, backing other artists and, literally in their spare time, coming up with hits on their own. Per his book, Jones would normally come up with the initial riff/melody line and the rest of the guys would chime in and fill out the sounds. Of course, they also did plenty of cover tunes of all styles - soundtrack numbers like "Exodus", rock'n'roll tunes like "Twist'n'Shout", plenty of Ray Charles songs, easy listening like "Never My Love", the surfy "No Matter What Shape", lots of soul tunes, a couple heavies like the Vanilla Fudge-ish take on "You Keep Me Hanging On" and pop cuts such as "The Beat Goes On", all with their own funky interpretation.

Of course, the originals really shine here, with "Green Onions" being the massive hit, but other greats like "Soul Dressing", "Tic-Tac-Toe", "Chinese Checkers", "Hip Hug-Her", "Slim Jenkins' Joint" and a bunch more suave coolness.

I think that these sets are superb packages - lots of music for your money! Great as either a starter pack if you don't have the MG's in your collection already (and you should!) or just to have everything in one place. Dig it!

Time is Tight - Booker T Jones

 

I know that everyone knows Booker T and the MG's from their massive hits like "Green Onions", "Hip Hug Her" and, of course, "Time is Tight". They were also the house band at Stax and backed up more hits than one can imagine.

Subtitled "My Life, Note by Note", Booker tells his story in a free-wheelin' kind of way, jumpin; around chronologically, but still managing to keep a coherent storyline. Brought up in a loving, musical family, they had enough money to help indulge Booker's passion for music by supplying various instruments, all of which he managed to conquer. After brief, non-serious flings with piano and drums, Booker started learning wind instruments, beginning with clarinet then oboe and saxophone, which is the instrument in which he made he debut as a studio musician! He learned pretty much every instrument available and played most in various bands before committing (more or less) to his beloved Hammond B-3.

I really dig Jones's laid back writing style - intelligent, conversational, fun and informative. Before starting this book I had no idea that Booker was still a teen in high school when he wrote (with the MG's) "Green Onions" and became a hit making machine. Even while juggling the MG's and being part of the Stax house band, backing stars like Otis Redding and Carla Thomas, he graduated high school and went to college in Bloomington, Indiana - commuting to Memphis! - and finished his studies, joined a fraternity, student taught and got married and had a kid! Man, to be young and have that kind of energy again!

By far my favorite part of the book is something that most musicians ignore or gloss over - the details of the studio sessions! Who played what, who wrote, who arranged, how many takes, and the interaction between the musicians. I don't think that it is overdone or too detailed and I would hope that even non-musicians would be fascinated by the stories - I love this stuff and, of course, it makes me go and listen to the songs all over again with a new appreciation.

As with most music related biographies, once the artist is past their prime period, the story loses a bit of its fascination. Booker is an interesting character and he basically became a rancher who occasionally made some music, but had some famous friends that he continued to work with (white and black - moving to LA he fell into the Laurel Canyon crowd), though his family situations were often shakey. A number of chapters are devoted solely to his family'n'children, who he is rightfully proud of, but they do not have anything to do with his musical career, so I pretty much skim those tales. I did like his remembrances of playing for President Obama though!

Well worth it for the enlightening'n'witty stories of his band and Stax at its prime. It turns out that Jones is a fine writer as well as musician. This did make me buy more of his music - more on that soon!

Tony Fate - Fate Machine

 

This is the second CD that Tony Fate produced (alongside Truck Stomp!) during the pandemic (don't you just hate productive people?!) and it's another monster! This is also all instrumental, but with plenty of variety and an overall soulfulness'n'funkiness complete with pseudo strings'n'horns, keys, wah-wah, and so much more.

 Pure funkiness abounds in the opening "Automatic Lover" but it's combined with powerful guitars and a crazed lead break for a wild cauldron of cool. Hip keys and a stompin' back beat highlight "Mr. Meanie", followed by the first of four "interludes", this one being a short acoustic blues guitar piece proceeding a monstrous "Magnus Opium" - power chords, rollin' drums (drum machine?) and more keys for accents. "Yay Yay" is a quirky, almost techno/rap beat with silliness on top but it melds into some more hep funk, "Baron Landscape" (hah!) is a ballad with an Asian feel and an odd laugh track in the middle (!), "Interlude #2" is an extremely brief piano bit, succeeded by the heavy'n'fleeting "Warlord" and more tough funk for "Where's My Damn Money" with some excellently fuzzed out'n'freaky leads. "Fire With Fire" is nicely percussive - I think this is all drum machines but Tony is doing very cool'n'interesting things with them - with more funky bass and keys. "Mars Africa" is a riff-laden bit a Isaac Hayes-ness, "Interlude #3" passes by in the blink of an eye, while "Freak Flag" again has some Mid-Eastern textures mixed into the funkiness, "Interlude #4" is a spoken piece and the finale is a nice keys'n'strings ballad called "Who Do You Think You Are" that includes a jazzy key'n'guitar lead section.

Tony is truly one of the more creative instrumental writers on the planet these days - he can create unique pieces that are still melodic'n'memorable, with impressive arrangements and many varied feels. You can always tell it's Tony - partly due to the creativity, but he also has his own sound - but he can write in a variety of different styles and it's all good! Once again - super recommended!

recommended gigs

 Saturday 6-19-21 - Soldiers of Destruction, Talking Bombs, Tasty Nuggz at the Double Down

Monday 6-21-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 6-26-21 - Trevor and the Swingin' Johnsons at Tiki di Amore

Monday 6-28-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 7-3-21 - the Delta Bombers, the New Waves, ITLYTKY at the Usual Place

Monday 7-5-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 7-7-21 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast returned to the Double Down with Green Fuz and more!

Monday 7-12-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Monday 7-19-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Monday 7-26-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 7-30-21 - Junkyard at Vamp'd

Saturday 8-21-21 - Metalachi, Los Carajos, Sheiks of Neptune at the Dive Bar

Friday 9-3-21 - the Maxies, Franks'n'Deans, the Implosions at the Double Down

Friday 6-24-21 - Sunday 9-26-21 - Punk Rock Bowling Festival

Saturday 9-25-21 - The Darts at Evel Pie with tons of other bands - PRB-related

Friday 10-8-21 - the Dickies with the Sheiks of Neptune at the Dive Bar

King Tony and the Witch Hunters - Truck Stomp!

King Tony is none other than the mastermind behind great bands like the Grey Spikes, the Bell Rays and the Black Widows (among others), Tony Fate, and he made good use of his time during the pandemic and released not one, but two, instrumental CDs! This one is country based - one of Tony's many musical loves - in the old school, traditional sense, but he can't help but put his own twists'n'turns on the theme, with hints of surf, garage, soundtracks and other influences.

Starting things off with "Mother Trucker", Tony cops some riffs/melodies from famous songs while incorporating them into a hip country bopper while "Hot Heap" is pure honky tonkin', and "Gear City" has some tough, hot roddin', Link Wray-in' riffs. There's some surf in the country for "Time Will Tell" which also incorporates some cool fuzzy slide, "Black Road" is a fast-paced melodic tune with a bit of organ in the background for added texture, "Hightailin'" is a homage to Jerry Reed (at least in my mind) with very hip dual harmony guitar leads, "Dirty Wheels" gives ya all the low-end, tremelo'd country riffs you could ask for, "13 Balls of Power" has a cool'n'hard-edged instrumental call'n'answer, "Hell on the Highway" has more of a swing/soundtrack groove, then things really rev up for the frantic riffin' of "Truck Drivin' S.O.B.". "Knights of the Red Eye" is a country-ish Link Wray-styled, power-chord number (with some more subtle organ), then back to pretty darn sweet'n'pure country for the title cut, followed by a Tex-Mex-ish tune, "Seniorita XL" before culminating in "Ugly Palace", which is less country and more atmospheric, in a Link Wray kinda way!

Tony keeps all of the tunes short'n'sweet, as a good instrumental should, and keeps them all interesting, creative and original. On this CD he is aided'n'abetted by Earl Smith on guitar, Rubo Eliaz on bass and Max Fargo on drums - unless those are all aliases for the man himself, which is always possible! Tony has too many influences for anything to sound overtly traditional, but for those with an open mind about their music, this is more terrific stuff from Mr. Fate!

Pink Floyd - Piper at the Gates of Dawn

 I realize that damn near anyone who would click on this blog is gonna know this record, but bare with me - I want to have a record of it here since I was surprised that I hadn't written about it previously. The CD that I have is the UK version (vastly different track listing than the US vinyl version that I have owned forever) which includes a couple of extra tracks not on the US record - pretty disconcerting when I first heard it. This album is one of the true landmarks of the psychedelic era and pretty much sounds like one of singer/guitarist Syd Barrett's LSD trips.

With a pulsating bass line, keyboard quicks and, eventually, guitar power chords under spacey vocals, "Astronomy Domine" is positively a journey to the outer reaches but it also manages to be grounded with a strong beat and some real energy - not an easy feat! One of the catchier tunes is the oft-covered "Lucifer Sam" - filled with hip riffs, melodic vocals, some neat instrumental interaction and a rock'n'roll arrangement - very groovy! "Mathilda Mother" moves back'n'forth from an almost ambient verse to a lick-laden chorus to a jazzy/Mid-Eastern bridge - yes, there is a lot going on here! Sounding a bit like a acid-filled child's fairy tale (which happens a few times on this record), ""Flaming" seems almost a description of a trip and is followed by the odd vocal sounds combined with jazzy piano for the mostly instrumental "Pow R. Toc H." and then Roger's off-time, noisy, somewhat anarchic (in a good way!) "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk", with their version of a "rave-up", which is vastly different in a psychedelic way  than how the Yardbirds would perform. We then get "Interstellar Overdrive", famously "stolen" from Love's "Little Red Book", another instrumental that ebbs'n'flows with wild dynamics, moving from heavy r'n'r to ambient, open sounds before returning for a crushing ending. Another child's tale is the percussive-dominated "The Gnome", an I Ching-based ballad for "Chapter 24", while "Scarecrow" has more unusual, raindrop percussion behind the descriptive lyrics, and the finale, "Bike", sounds a lot like Syd's post-Floyd, child-like solo work.

With Barrett at the helm, Pink Floyd sounded like no other group at the time or since, and while they garnered fame'n'fortune after replacing him, their songs'n'style were never quite as strong or manic as here. A 60's masterpiece, to be sure!

The CD includes a nice booklet with plenty of photos along with the lyrics and, hey, I just found out that the record's title refers to the god, Pan. Am I the last to know that?!

Patti Smith - Babel

I feel under Patti's spell once I first heard Horses and  bought everything the Patti Smith Group did in its first incarnation and saw them as often as I could. I truly enjoyed her merging poetic imagery with garage rock'n'roll and while I think that the poems may work better when put to music, her written words have always been pretty damn dynamic. I bought this when it first was released due to my fascination with her other work and still dig her fairly unique word play.

This book combines various imagery - Patti's own photos and artwork along with those of friends, peers and those she admired (Mapplethorpe is, of course, represented a few times, as are other friends) - with her poems, prose and wildly imaginative short stories. Babel is, as anyone slightly familiar with religion knows, the tower that men built to bring themselves closer to god who then, in his anger at their hubris, destroyed it and took away man's common language, causing chaos and confusion among men, which stopped them from working together. So, communication is one key theme in this book, loosely speaking, and free association and wordplay - "atrophy a/trophy" being an example - is a favorite tool, as well. 

It's kinda fun to guess who she is referring to in various writings - "neo boy" is Tom Verlaine, natch - and what parts ended up on her recordings - quite a number of bits'n'pieces here as this was written about the same time of the first few records - there's even some writings that became Blue Oyster Cult lyrics (she helped them a number of times). She is certainly a sexual being and writes of many fantasies with both men and women, among other fantastical tangents and her personal, nonlinear fairy tales.

Truthfully, there are times when her free association loses me, but the power of her words on paper is undeniable and always worth perusing. Fans should positively own this one.

The Avengers Died For Your Sins

 

As everyone knows, the Avengers were a San Francisco-based 70's punk band, fronted by the charismatic'n'dynamic singer Penelope Houston and rivaling the power'n'energy of any other group of the time. They only released a 3 song EP during their tenure, but after opening for the final Sex Pistols show in SF, Steve Jones produced some further recordings that appeared after their break-up and since then there have been a number of different releases. This compilation contains studio and live cuts from '77 and '78 along with a few songs that were put down by the Scavengers, a later variation on the group.

Right from the start of "Teenage Rebel" we get a high-energy mix of the Who (reminds me a bit of "My Generation") and chant-along, call'n'answer punk rock'n'roll - damn, remember when punk rock was just stripped down rock'n'roll? More of the same in "Friends of Mine", with maybe a little similarity to X here, although I'm not saying who influenced who, while the politically incorrectly-titled, but damn catchy, "White N*gger", has some Sex Pistols stylings though wrapped in their own originality. (BTW, there was a bit of a movement in the mid-to-late 70's to defuse'n'dilute this offensive term - maybe a bit naive, especially coming from white rock'n'rollers, but it was done with good intentions.)

"The Good, the Bad and the Kowalskis" is a pretty hilarious title for another great punk rocker, more call'n'answer coolness in "I Want In", they get frantic in "Crazy Homicide", then appropriately moody (yet still melodic) for "The End of the World". They present a live, wildly frenzied "American in Me", a hard-hittin' "Open Your Eyes", a crazed "Car Crash", "Tiny Pink Noise" is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it piece, and the ultimate punk rock anthem is, naturally, called "Fuck You". I assume in order to give Penelope's voice a break they cover the Ventures in "Joker's Wild" then back to the chant-along punk rock for "Something's Wrong", pure power in "Desperation", followed by punk empowerment in "I Believe in Me", a raucous "Money" and ending with their terrific anthem "We Are the One".

Naturally, the live recordings lose some fidelity but are a terrific record of the frenzied energy of their shows. This is a wonderful document, but also search out their other studio recordings. Another great, often overlooked, band!

The Screamers - Strength Through Intimidation

 Subtitled "the 1978 Gexa X Demos", this record consists of good quality recordings of this truly seminal and unique punk band that never released anything during the group's short tenure. With a weird mix of vocals/synth/electric piano and drums, the guitar-less punk band had snarling vocals on top of 60’s influenced (like most 70's punk bands, they did a 60's tune, in their case it was an updated "The Beat Goes On") noise combined with touches of new wave/Devo synth twitches, bleeps'n'boops, live'n'powerful'n'propulsive techno-type beats, punk aggression and lots of other wackiness. 

I remember seeing them once back in the day but was not overly impressed due to my love of guitars - I really wish that I could see that show again today - I believe that I would feel very differently about it now. But, singer Tomato du Plenty is legendary as a frontman and the band was the breeding ground for the likes of Tommy Gear, Paul Roessler and KK Barrett (not to mention a teenage El Duce, in an early, Oregon-based configuration!). Their live act ensured them headlining status in LA and they were also successful while touring as far away as NYC.

Though keyboard-driven, the sound is highly aggressive'n'abusive, with plenty of nods to guitar-based punk rock - it's pretty fascinating that they created a hard-edged, high-energy sound within their self-imposed limitations. It's truly is a pretty unique sound that to this day is different than most anyone else has accomplished, as most keyboard-based combos are more atmospheric and/or techno.

This is a great document of what could easily have been yet another legendary but lost band. Anyone who digs the early punk scene should certainly own this!

Brian May The Definitive Biography - Laura Jackson

 Even when not playing in Queen, Brian May has been keeping a positive public profile online with his various accounts where he interacts with his fans, endorses guitars'n'effects, talks about his health and much more. He is charming'n'charismatic and friendly'n'forthright and just seems like a damn nice guy, so it seemed time to get to know him a bit more.

May is probably best known for being the only (?) astro-physicist/rock star on the scene today, and it seems like he has always been a level-headed, decent person, an above-average student, a technician and a fine player. He had a difficult time deciding whether to remain in the sciences (he continued he studies throughout the early days of Queen and, of course, went back for his degree(s) later) or devote his time to music, but the allure of rock'n'roll grabbed him. As with most people his age, he played in a number of groups early on before falling in with Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and, eventually, John Deacon. He and his dad famously built his signature guitar and the perfectionist in him/them made one that was coveted by all those who heard it. Again, as with most bands, the group was turned down numerous times before finally garnering a record contract and, with plenty of hard work, also garnering fame'n'fortune.

Success came somewhat slowly due partially to health issues with May and Mercury affecting their first few tours of America, a vital audience that needed to be tapped, not to mention some vicious critics. But once the hits started coming they didn't stop for decades and the band became one of the biggest and flashiest in the world - perfect timing for punk rock to rail against! I do think it's funny that Jackson compares Queen at their peak to ABBA! While they both rely on harmonies, I would certainly not associate the two!

Most of the rest of the story mainly lists the various recordings'n'tours that the band performed, as well as detailing May's further health issues, along with family and romantic ups'n'downs, side projects and, naturally, Freddie's failing health (he continued to record with the band throughout his illness, along he could not tour) and early death. As we know, after letting Queen lie for a number of years, May and Taylor resurrected the name with various sidemen along with their continuing individual projects that continue to this day.

Not overly exciting, but a good overview of the man and the band - well worth it for fans.

Syd Barrett - Opel

 

Of course, I've been a Syd fan ever since I first heard Piper At the Gates of Dawn, and, later on, found his two solo LPs and his comp with some previously unreleased items on it (damn, I guess I have not reviewed any of those - I will have to rectify that when time permits).  But, when I heard about this record with more unreleased numbers, I had to pick it up, as well, especially after just reading his biography. 

While a few of the numbers here are new to listeners, most are different versions of Syd's psyched-out/ childish/ wonderfully whimsical musical tales. Often just Syd and his guitar, the purest form of his acid-drenched vision, while occasionally there are other musicians doing their best to pull everything together in a cohesive form. "Lanky (Part One)" and "Clowns and Juglers" (later titled "Octopus") are highly successful group offerings, sounding considerably like they could have been included on Piper while "It Is Obvious (take 3)" is a solo take with Syd going back to his roots and "borrowing" from the blues standard "I'm a Man" and "It Is Obvious  (Take 5)" is acapella and bears no similarity at all to take 3! 

Fans of other reality-challenged musicians like Jad Fair, Jonathan Richman and others will certainly dig this although his proper solo records, The Madcap Laughs and Barrett are probably the places to start. Fans who already have those will definitely want this one, as well!

GL Crockett and Big Walter Price - Rockin With the Blues

 

I definitely picked this one up after I learned that Big Walter Price originally performed "Pack Fair and Square" - made famous by the J. Geils Band - and this was one of the few releases of his that is currently available. It doesn't seem that GL Crockett had anything to do with Price - the scant liner notes included do not indicate any relationship - but his handful of cuts are a welcome addition to this collection.

Opening the CD is Crockett's "Look Out Mabel" which is pure, rockin''n'boppin' rockabilly, and I'm surprised that this wasn't a hit for him, while he gives a heartfelt slow blues in "Did You Ever Love Somebody" (there's two versions of both of those tunes) and "It's A Man Out There" is a fine take on Sonny Boy Williamson's "One Way Out". He gets positively funky in "Watch My 32" and goes for the deep, soulful blues for his remaining cuts.

For Price's contributions, there’s a little bit of everything here - slow blues, jump blues, Jimmy Reed-style swamp blues, and a bit of everything in between , even a Fats Domino like stroll and an Andre Williams-ish talkin' blues! The piano-playing Price also has some church organ on his blues, giving them a different feel, and Albert Collins appears on some of the cuts, as well, with some stinging lead guitar. Of course, one of the highlights is the horn-driven, Big Joe Turner-ish jump-jive of "Pack Fair and Square"! I love the r'n'r take that Geils did, but this really swings!

I didn't know too much about either cat before copping this one, but it's a ripper! 

Live Skull - Cloud One

 I know absolutely nothing about Live Skull but my pal Rob turned me on to this 1986 release from this NYC noise band and I'm trying to wrap my head around it in a coherent way. I'm hearing all kinds of influences, from Sonic Youth to early Siouxie to PIL to various 4AD bands and more. There is a bit of melody in the mayhem and they use the basic two guitar/bass/drums line-up in a fairly unique way. Having two singers (male and female) helps to add another dimension of difference to the drone but these aren't particularly memorable "songs" as much as they are angular soundscapes - nothing wrong with that, of course!

Funnily, I read a review saying that this record was more "rock" than their earlier work since I, who is not familiar with said earlier work, had been thinking that this record was particularly dirgey/droney and somewhat lacking in the propulsion that some other noize bands utilize. I can hardly imagine what their previous album was like. Of course, immediately after saying that, "Haircut For Pigs" comes on and it is comparatively up-tempo, although with its own weirdnesses.

I definitely dig the two guitar interaction along with the various vocalizations. The more I listen, the more I think it's a combination of Sonic Youth and first album Siouxie and the Banshees (with maybe a hint of Savage Republic), but with their own twist, naturally. If you're so inclined, this is highly intriguing! 

recommended gigs

 Friday 6-4-21 - Thee Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Friday 6-4-21 - The Dickies with Gob Patrol and Sector 7G at the Fremont Country Club

Saturday 6-5-21 - The New Waves at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 6-6-21 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Golden Tiki

Monday 6-7-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Monday 6-7-21 - Goldtop Bob at the Founders Club

Friday 6-11-21 - Thee Swank Bastards and Stagnetti's Cock at the Double Down

Monday 6-14-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 6-19-21 - Soldiers of Destruction, Talking Bombs, Tasty Nuggz at the Double Down

Monday 6-21-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 6-26-21 - Trevor and the Swingin' Johnsons at Tiki di Amore

Monday 6-28-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 7-3-21 - the Delta Bombers, the New Waves, ITLYTKY at the Usual Place

Monday 7-5-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 7-7-21 - Franks'n'Deans Weenie Roast returned to the Double Down with Green Fuz and more!

Monday 7-12-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Monday 7-19-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Monday 7-26-21 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

8-21-21 - Metalachi, Los Carajos, Sheiks of Neptune at the Dive Bar

Friday 9-3-21 - the Maxies, Franks'n'Deans, the Implosions at the Double Down

Saturday 9-25-21 - The Darts at Evel Pie with tons of other bands - PRB-related

Friday 10-8-21 - the Dickies with the Sheiks of Neptune at the Dive Bar

Sex Pistols 3-CD Box Set

 Like everyone who was interested in the "new wave" of rock'n'roll happening in the mid-to-late 70's, I was a huge fan of the Sex Pistols' early Mott The Hoople/Kinks/Small Faces brand of "punk rock". Lydon's sneering vocals and exceptional lyrics kept them from being a pub rock band and the combination of personalities built upon the Ramones solid foundation to create the template for early (pre-hard-core) punk rock. 

This 3-CD box set (a high-quality, hard cover booklet is included, as well) encompasses "most of the material recorded by the band while Johnny Rotten was the singer" (per Wikipedia), including the entirety of their sole album, B-Sides, demos, rarities, outtakes and covers of their influences like "Substitute", "Stepping Stone", "Road Runner", "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" and even an aborted take on the Creation's fab "Through My Eyes" (not necessarily something that they should have even tried!).

That's it for the first 2 CD's and the third has their full show at Screen on the Green in 1976, proving that they were a pretty powerful force to be reckoned with while Glen Matlock was holding down the low end with Paul Cook (Sid only appears on "Belsen Was a Gas" on this comp). There's a handful of other live tracks, as well, including songs never recorded in the studio.

Overall, while this isn't literally everything the band did, this presents most of the essential material. Of course, most fans probably have all of these numbers, but this puts everything together in one place in a well-done package. Get it if you don't already have it!

Cheap Trick - Sex, America, Cheap Trick

 I've been a Cheap Trick fan ever since I bought their debut when it first appeared in the record stores, alongside new wave/punk records and kinda straddling the line between hard rock, pop and new wave, but making a sound all their own. This 1996 four CD box set (with high-quality booklet) covers their career up until that time with plenty of their most famous tunes along with 17 previously unreleased songs.

Since I am a hug fan of their early work, the first CD (the material is basically in chronological order) is most appealing to me, with cuts from their debut and sophomore albums, augmented by a number of unreleased cuts, single versions, live takes and more. CD 2 delves into the 3rd and 4th records with a couple more live and alternative takes, a demo with Rick singing and Tom Peterson taking lead vocals for a live medley of the Velvet Underground's "Waiting For the Man"/"Heroin"!

By the third CD, they start to get into some shakey ground, but there's still some greatness like a version of "Day Tripper", a demo of "I Need Love", a previously unreleased take on "Born To Raise Hell" and others, even though their is some dreck like "She's Tight". Unfortunately, CD 4 is almost unlistenable with misguided attempts at commercialism like "The Flame" nearly destroyed their initial credibility before they made another comeback in the late 90's that continues to this day (even if you still have to sit through "The Lame" in their live concerts.

This is absolutely worth it for the early material and the cool, unreleased numbers, but you probably won't want to put on the final CD. Still, fans should certainly own this!