Well, the world is still an unpredictable place - mostly due to the anti-vaxxers needlessly dragging out the pandemic - but at times we have to do our best to at least pretend to have some semblance of normalcy in our lives and get out and see people again. This show at the fabulous Double Down Saloon was a perfect chance as everyone involved are friends and are sane enough to be careful.
This gig was supposed to include the Maxies but unforeseen circumstances kept them from making it out to Vegas so the Psyatics filled in to complete the aural mayhem of the evening.
Opening the night was one of my fave bands in town, the terrific Implosions - a groovy band and some of the heppest people in Vegas. This double-couple quartet mix up garage-y punk rock, pop and Cramps-ian sleaze with Vegas-themed lyrics. Opening with a brand new rocker about Evel Knievel, they ran through a super-fun set with numbers like "Moulin Rouge" - a song about Jim Crow laws in Vegas that is highlighted by a fab, noisy guitar solo - along with a rockin' homage to the Stardust (the band stole the Stardust logo for their new t-shirt, which I failed to pick up, but you need to get the next time they play), a dedication to Binion's million dollar photo shoot - this one moves from Cramps-ish swagger to hard rockin' with a seriously great guitar solo - then one about the Blue Angel and closing with their tribute to playing the ponies! Clay'n'Denise provide a swingin' rhythm section while Dave provides a variety of git-slingin' and the lovely Adrienne croons'n'shouts her way through seriously clever lyrics. They're being careful during these trying times, but hopefully they will be back out'n'about soon.
(Again, my phone camera takes crappy pix, but here's a few. You can't really see that the Imp's got the crowd up on the feet and dancing throughout the set!)
Of course, I couldn't take any photos during the Psyatics sets, but here's a couple of selfies before we started. :) I was a bit sloppier than I should have been but it was fun running through some brand new tunes along with some tried'n'true Psyatics classics along with numbers from our pre-COVID album, Devil You Know. We will be back at the DD on Friday October 1 - come on out and see what other surprises we have up our collective sleeves!
Franks'n'Deans are a Double Down favorite and rightfully so - a highly talented combo who mix tight playing with ridiculously good harmonies while blasting out punk rock versions of Rat Pack numbers! They have also stretched out to include their take on surf numbers, as well, all while the lovely, appropriately-named Muse shakes'n'shimmies and entices the crowd. They have a new (to me, anyway) drummer calling himself Meatbag (I guess I won't ask about that sobriquet) who was excellent, with a strong attack all while adding extra vocal harmonies! Always a good time, although halfway through their set I was out on my feet after working all week and needed to cross town while I still could safely. I hope to see these cats again soon, as well.
Once again, I must say thank you to Ian and the entire crew at the Double Down for hosting another great night of local music and thanks to the Imps and F'n'Ds for being the coolest. We'll see you again soon!
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