RIP Nichelle Nichols

Nichelle Nichols, trailblazing 'Star Trek' actress, dies at 89 

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Sad to hear of her demise - a lovely and talented actress, and a trailblazing role model for African Americans at a time when there were few blacks in major roles on TV. 

The Unwieldies and the Devil's Duo at the Huntridge Tavern, Saturday July 30, 2022

 

It's nice getting back to one of the more relaxed'n'fun watering holes in Vegas, the Huntridge Tavern, on a regular basis again. With an intimate atmosphere, friendly staff and cheap-yet-strong drinks, it's a guaranteed good time. They've now invested in a PA system for the shows there, which makes it easier for bands since we don't have to bring our own, which is greatly appreciated!

As I always say, we weren't able to take any photos of ourselves performing this eve - if anyone has anything, send 'em our way! - but we had a fab time with our set of murder ballads, country laments and tales of misbegotten lives. The evening started off slowly, but the tavern filled up as we ran through our set, with plenty of friends, fans of the Unwieldies, regulars and those who simply stumbled in. We received a pretty terrific response throughout, though, and lots of great feedback (and even a round of drinks! Thanks!) after we finished. Fun times and hopefully, we will get back there soon! See us next, though, at the new Sand Dollar Downtown with the legendary Panther Burns on Sunday August 28!

Our good friends the Unwieldies never fail to entertain and while there was a bit of a slow start as they reined in the new PA system to their acoustic instruments and phantom power supplies, they ended up with a fine sound, with a good balance and present vocals, which is necessary for their lovely tunes. As usual, their set contained numbers from their several excellent CD's, a few covers - "The Thrill is Gone", Roxy Music's "More Than This", and "Mama Don't Allow", among others - and at least one or two brand new ones. Dani (vocals/guitar) and Rob (bass/guitar) were joined by the full band - longtimer Jack on violin, Richard on Dobro and Eric on banjo - for a nice mixture backing the vocal melodies. I've literally never seen them do a bad show and they were on and seemingly having a good time this eve and the packed house loved them!

Thanks once more to the Huntridge Tavern for hosting the night and thanks to everyone who came out and, of course, thanks to the Unwieldies for making it another memorable night!

The Rumours, the Negative Nancys at Artifice, Wednesday July 27, 2022

 

Pulsar Presents puts on a large number of wildly varied gigs around town, from metal to country to everything in between, but always interesting and different! We hadn't heard of the Rumours before this show, but Melanie did a bit of research and liked what she heard and when we found out it was an early night, we knew we had to check it out!

Vegas' own Negative Nancys opened the night at the very reasonable hour of 9:00, with a good crowd of folks already there and ready to rock! The NN's do their own brand of punk rock, driven by a solidly flashy drummer, rumblin' bass and some neat guitar interplay by the two frontwomen. Licks'n'leads are exchanged by each of them as well as the vocalizing. Unfortunately, the sound was a bit muddy for their set - possibly because we were off to the side - with the bass drum being the loudest instrument, which is never good for a guitar-based punk rock band, but they rocked nonetheless and the people were up'n'about from start to finish!

The Rumours got the middle slot of the night, which was nice for a touring band that hadn't been here before, and they had no trouble riling up the house and the crowd seemed to love them immediately! This Iowan trio has some heavy 70's influences from the likes of the Runaways (the guitarist definitely took some moves from Lita), Girlschool and Glam Rock in general. With a charismatic, powerful drummer rooted in the school of Clem Burke (even tho he wore an LA Guns t-shirt) who wasn't afraid to stand up and get the folks clapping along with the song before he picked up his sticks kicked in the song and two gals in front in matching hot pants'n't-shirts (and proudly braless), they had style to go along with their punk'n'roll sound. A few choreographed moves interspersed with their out'n'out rockin' for more visual kicks. Solid players all around, although nothing too fancy, cuz that wouldn't work for their songs, they just came to rock and that's what the people wanted! Lots of songs about sex'n'attitude, sung with a Joan Jett-like sneer (with a touch of Kim Shattuck and maybe Amyl from the Sniffers) and plenty of backing vocals to get ya singin' along. 

(B&W rockin' pic by Melanie Coffee!)

(Sorry, low light and my crummy phone camera means the pix aren't very focused)

I had an early day today so we couldn't stick around for the harmony-fueled pop punk from Crimson Riot, but hopefully, the rest of the folks were energized by the Rumours and stuck around to continue to rock! Thanks again to Pulsar for another high quality rock'n'roll evening - and for the reasonable time slots on a worknight!

recommended gigs

 Friday 7-29-22 - the Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 7-30-22 - The Devil's Duo and the Unwieldies at the Huntridge Tavern

Saturday 8-6-22 - Daytime show with The Unwieldies at the Clark County Library at 1401 E. Flamingo at 2:00 pm

Saturday 8-6-22 - Pat Todd and the Rank Outsiders, the Dogs, Neverland Ranch Davidians, Tramp for the Lord at the Double Down

Saturday 8-6-22 - Dirty Rock'n'Roll Dance Party presents the Surfrajetts, the Volcanics and the Sheiks of Neptune at the Usual Place

Thursday 8-11-22 - The Heroine with Big Like Texas at Soul Belly

Friday 8-12-22 - The Psyatics at the Huntridge Tavern with Stagnetti's Cock and Scorpion vs Tarantula for John Armstrong's birthday

Saturday 8-13-22 - Suburban Resistance record release show at the Dive Bar with Lean 13, the DeadDolls, and Not For Sale

Saturday 8-20-22 - The Night Times with No Que No at the Usual Place

Thursday 8-25-22 - Jesse Daniel and the Rhyolite Sound at Soul Belly

Friday 8-26-22 - Dominick Muzio and the Chemical Tribe with Dead Money at Back Yard Bar and Grill

Sunday 8-28-22 - Tav Falco's Panther Burns with the Devil's Duo, Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Friday 9-16-22 - Jenni Don't and the Spurs with The Devil's Duo, Frankie Lee and the Infernos and White Line Fever at the Dive Bar

Friday 10-7-22 - Trevor and the Swinging Johnsons at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-8-22 - the Queers, Venomous Pinks, Mercy Music, Jerk! at the Dive Bar

Saturday 10-8-22 - the Souvenairs at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-15-22 - the Double Whammys at the Golden Tiki

Thursday 10-20-22 - Kepi Ghoulie and the Psyatics at Evel Pie

Saturday 10-22-22 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 10-26-22 - The Peculiar Pretzelmen with the Devil's Duo at the Dive Bar

Friday 10-28-22 - Thee Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-29-22 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki

RIP Jimy Sohns

 

I can't find an actual news article yet, but this seems to be legit. Sad to hear of his demise - the Shadows of Knight were an important part of my musical upbringing. A rock'n'roll band from where I grew up (one of the guitarists was actually from Highland, In) who, of course, had a massive hit with "Gloria", but their first two albums are true garage classics. 

I'll Take You There - Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers and the Music That Shaped the Civil Rights Era - Greg Kot

 

I loved the infectious hits "I'll Take You There", "Respect Yourself", "Sha Na Boom Boom" and more when they sprung up on the AM radio in the early 70's without being aware of their - or the singers - connection to their religious upbringing, but I enjoyed the funky rhythms and especially the gospel-tinged vocals. It would be quite a while before I would explore more of the Staples Singers repertoire, but as I have, I have totally dug their mixture of blues, R'n'B, Gospel and Soul and their terrific interpretations and originals. They were also prominent in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60's and kept the fight going throughout their lives. This book concentrates on the fantastic Mavis, but, of course, the whole family's story is her story.

"Pops" Staples moved from the Delta - where he got to see and be inspired by the likes of Charlie Patton live! - to Chicago, joining the exodus of African Americans looking for a better life with better pay. The work was still back breaking, but the money was considerably better and he and his family were now in a major city, where he could once again work on his music. After getting frustrated working with others who lacked his discipline, Pops gathered his children around him and put together the family group. Funnily, Mavis was not interested in being the frontperson, but after her brother's voice change, Pops insisted. 

Of course, there was a lot of gospel folks who crossed over to pop and the Staples grew up with some of the biggest stars like Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin and Bobby Womack and remained friends with them after they went pop (often by simply changing the words of old religious songs).  The folk movement embraced the blues and gospel performers and one revelation here is that Mavis and Bob Dylan were in love and Bob even proposed, although Mavis and the family didn't think he was serious. But with the help of many white fans who were r'n'r stars, and with a more direct association with the Civil Rights Movement via Pops' topical songs, the Staples reached a wider, and whiter, audience and, thus, spread their message, upped their popularity and made considerably more money. They had some ups'n'downs but then hit their stride with a string of superb hit songs that resonate to this day. 

As usual, my favorite parts of their stories are the early days through their smash hits of the 70's and the story is less compelling after that, although, of course, I am interested in learning what became of the major players. Funnily enough, both Pops and Mavis won Grammys in their later years and while I don't believe that the material or performances match their early work, they garnered more respect as they got older - as blues artists like John Lee Hooker did - with material that lacked the power of their previous performances but were cleaned up for modern ears.

I truly enjoyed Kot's writing style - conversational, intimate and informative, with plenty of tidbits and insights from family'n'friends, as well as first hand interviews with the major players. Really well done and it will get you listening to their finest work over'n'over again!

The Executioner's Last Songs Vol 2 and 3 - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts

 

After getting volume one of this series from our buddy Rob and thoroughly diggin' it, I did a little research and discovered this 2-CD set of the next two volumes, which continues in the style and quality of the first one With co-stars galore, Jon Langford presents some fab interpretations of old school murder ballads and tales of violence and viciousness.

I've been trying to figure out a different arrangement of the traditional "Gallows Pole" and damn if Tim Rutili (and friends) don't do a terrific, bluesy take, stripping down Zep's version into a cool, slide number. Dave Alvin is in fine form with a country/bluegrass "Louis Collins" (there's not a lot of electric lead work on these albums, and Dave's terrific solos really stand out), Kurt Wagner does a kinda maudlin country ballad in "The Fall of Troy", while Otis Clay does a drastically different "Banks of the Ohio" than I've ever heard, making it an upbeat-ish, lightweight country/pop number instead of the heavily dramatic tune that I'm used to! Just like "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" on Volume One, there's a bluegrass-ish version of 999's "Homicide" by Skid Marks, then we get Kelly Hogan sweetly singin' "Green Green Grass of Home", followed appropriately by Rico Bell's bouncy jump-bluegrass of "Death Row", and then, kinda inappropriately, by the Gogol Bordello-like "Gulag Blues" from Lu Edmonds! Chris Mills is aided by Dave Alvin and Dean Schlabowske for the strongly melodic country ballad, "Horses", Diane Izzo and John Rice bravely take on "Strange Fruit" but do it justice in an original arrangement, David Yow seems to have his tongue firmly in his cheek for "One Dyin' and a Buryin'", also kinda ballsy is Jon Langford doing a string-laden singalong of "Delilah", but the volume concludes on a more serious note with a beautiful reading of the old-country-across-the-waters "Willie O'Winsbury" by Charlotte Greig.

Volume 3 is also pretty varied, from Alejandro Esovedo, Jon and Dave Alvin takin' on "Bad News" to Rebecca Gates doing a fairly original "Ballad of Billy Joe", to a hick-ish "Dang Me" by Rhett Miller, to a solemn acoustic "Forever to Burn" done by Rex Hobarts followed by Pat Brennan doing a Tom Waits-ian lounge version of "Death Where Is Thy Sting"! Sally Timms and Edith Frost are pretty straight country on "Long Black Veil", "God's Eternal Love" is hauntingly sung by Mark Eitzel while Gurf Morlix's "Hangin' Me Tonight" is reminiscent of the Ricky Nelson's "Ramblin' Man", the Meat Purveyors do a fab, fairly trad bluegrass take on "John Hardy", although halfway through they move into supersonic speed, Jon Rauhouse does a dramatically heavy "Pardon This Coffin", and Kevin Coyne does a funkily acoustic "Savior". Dave Alvin reprises "Green Green Grass of Home" that Kelly Hogan did on Vol. 2 (with some of his excellent, classic lead guitar work), Tom Greenhalgh does a fine, stripped-down "Angel of Death" and the proceedings come to an end with the Sundowners pretty much duplicating the Kingston Trio's take on "Tom Dooley".

Truly terrific interpretations going on in this series, with a variety of "feels", from solemnly serious to pretty goofball, but all worth checkin' out. All volumes are highly recommended!

Groovie Ghoulies - Fun in the Dark

 

Obviously, I have been revisiting the Ghoulies ever since seeing Kepi play a few weeks ago and this is one of their most fun records - hence the title! The line up here is B-Face on bass, Roach on guitar and Kepi on drums and vocals. They are at their Ramones-esque best with hits like "She Gets All the Girls", "Fun in the Dark", "(She's My) Vampire Girl", and a power-chord take on the Dolls' "Lonely Planet Boy". "(She's Got a) Brain Scrambling Device" is fast'n'furious and super-short, "Outbreak" doesn't get played as much lately, I don't think, but I quite enjoy its groove and harmony-driven vocals. They mix the Beach Boys with the Ramones for "The Spell Is On", I guess this is where their version of Sonny Bono's (via Mott?) "Laugh At Me" originally came from (it also appears on the Flying Saucers Rock'n'Roll CD), they're downright romantic on "Let's Go To the Moon", and are more Ramones-y tongue-in-cheek with "Don't Make Me Kill You (Again)"!

All super basic - just like rock'n'roll should be - Ramones-fueled power chords'n'energy with no distracting guitar solos, and great poppy songs! You know ya dig it!

People Take Warning! Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs, 1913-1938

 

We have been exploring the early Americana/Folk/what-have-you sounds of the early 20th century for a while now and there are always more discoveries, as this 3-CD set shows! Of course, there are some songs that overlap with some of our other comps, but there are also lots of tunes that are new to us.

Splits up into three sections - "Man v Machine" (often songs about the Titanic), "Man v Nature" and, of course, "Man v Man (and Woman Too!)" - the songs mostly consist of early acoustic folk/storytelling tales, usually with minimal backing and lots of death'n'tears! The sounds are simple melodies, with an emphasis on the narrative, similar to what Woody Guthrie or Pete Seeger would later do - obviously, these were their influences and they would perform some of these numbers and some became part of our pop culture, such as "Casey Jones".

There are tunes that are more hillbilly, some are more blues-based, some are pure folk, some are sung in their original, old country language, some are almost Tin Pan Alley-ish, some are gospel-influenced, there's a few true bluegrass, harmony-driven tunes, and various permutations. 

The booklet included includes an introduction by Tom Waits as well as some excellent information about the events depicted in each song, the players, and often, how quickly the song was recorded and released after the disaster.

I gotta say, this is not one of my favorite collections of this kind of material, but it does gather a wide variety of material and gives a good idea of the different styles that were presented at the time. Certainly worthwhile.

recommended gigs

 Friday 7-22-22 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf

Friday 7-22-22 - Mondo Vermin, Stagnetti's Cock at the Rusty Spur

Saturday 7-23-22 - The Dirty Hooks, Cherry Hill at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Saturday 7-23-22 - Alive, Pearl Jam tribute at Rock Star Bar

Saturday 7-23-22 - The Double Whammys at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 7-24-22 - Cromm Fallon and the P200, Raised on TV, Nova Babies at Red Dwarf

Tuesday 7-26-22 - Thee Hypnotiques, Cromm Fallon and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Usual Place

Wednesday 7-27-22 - The Rumours, Crimson Riot, Negative Nancys at Artifice

Friday 7-29-22 - the Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 7-30-22 - The Devil's Duo and the Unwieldies at the Huntridge Tavern

Saturday 8-6-22 - Daytime show with The Unwieldies at the Clark County Library at 1401 E. Flamingo at 2:00 pm

Saturday 8-6-22 - Pat Todd and the Rank Outsiders, the Dogs, Neverland Ranch Davidians, Tramp for the Lord at the Double Down

Saturday 8-6-22 - Dirty Rock'n'Roll Dance Party presents the Surfrajetts, the Volcanics and the Sheiks of Neptune at the Usual Place

Thursday 8-11-22 - The Heroine with Big Like Texas at Soul Belly

Friday 8-12-22 - The Psyatics at the Huntridge Tavern with Stagnetti's Cock and Scorpion vs Tarantula for John Armstrong's birthday

Saturday 8-13-22 - Suburban Resistance record release show at the Dive Bar with Lean 13, the DeadDolls, and Not For Sale

Saturday 8-20-22 - The Night Times with No Que No at the Usual Place

Thursday 8-25-22 - Jesse Daniel and the Rhyolite Sound at Soul Belly

Friday 8-26-22 - Dominick Muzio and the Chemical Tribe with Dead Money at Back Yard Bar and Grill

Sunday 8-28-22 - Tav Falco's Panther Burns with the Devil's Duo, Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Friday Sept 16 - Jenni Don't and the Spurs with The Devil's Duo and Frankie Lee and the Infernos at the Dive Bar

Friday 10-7-22 - Trevor and the Swinging Johnsons at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-8-22 - the Queers, Venomous Pinks, Mercy Music, Jerk! at the Dive Bar

Saturday 10-8-22 - the Souvenairs at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-15-22 - the Double Whammys at the Golden Tiki

Thursday 10-20-22 - Kepi Ghoulie and the Psyatics at Evel Pie

Saturday 10-22-22 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 10-26-22 - The Peculiar Pretzelmen with the Devil's Duo at the Dive Bar

Friday 10-28-22 - Thee Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-29-22 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki

Groovie Ghoulies - Berry'd Alive

As the punny title would allude, this record is a collection of Chuck Berry numbers done in the uniquely minimalistic, boisterously merry, punk-pop manner of the Groove Ghoulies. This is only a 7 song set, but with the classic line-up of Kepi, Roach and Scampi (recorded by the groovy Pete Mattern), you know you're in for a fun-filled rock'n'roll time.

Kepi started out (at least I first saw him) in a group called the Berry Pickers, so, yeah, he has a history of love for this music, whether directly from the master, Chuck, himself, or from interpretations from the likes of the Rolling Stones, the Pretty Things, and practically everyone else who ever picked up a guitar!

They mine the Stones' take, more-or-less, for the rockin' opener, "Don't Lie To Me", and groove to the swingin' "Betty Jean" (with an added Yardbirds-ish rave-up) with punk rock power but still keepin' the swing ("it don't mean a thing") and Roach blastin' out some fine solos. Chuck loved train imagery and "All Aboard" has always been a fave of his for me and the Ghoulies have long done a fine job with this, as Kepi spits out the list of cities (Chuck knew his geography!) and gives out the "hisssss" of the steam engine. Back to the Stones influence for a rock'n'roll party in "Carol", then slowin' things down slightly for the bouncin' groove of "Talkin' 'Bout You", with its movin' bass lines and some extra added guitar punches. An extraordinarily obscure (for Berry) number, but highly appropriate for the GG's is "Trick or Treat", again restrained from becoming to punky, but then they go full-on Ramones for their take on the fab "Come On" - another one done by the Stones, but certainly not like this!

While Kepi and company always have super originals, they also are never afraid to honor their influences and this is a fun trip through some truly classic rock'n'roll songs. Who knows, maybe you'll fine a new Berry fave!

RIP Claes Oldenburg

Sculptor Claes Oldenburg, maker of colossal everyday objects, has died at 93 

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Certainly not r'n'r, but very much a major star of pop culture. Sad to hear of his passing.

Only Lovers Left Alive - Dave Wallis

 Kind of ironic that I'm reading this one after Killing Williamsburg as mass suicides are the theme in both. This novel I am certain I discovered via Ugly Things, as it is set in the swingin' 60's, and it's possible that once I bought this, KW was recommended due to the similar concepts. In any case...

While never becoming a best seller, this book became a cult classic due to it's teenage-centric narrative. The kids are pretty realistic, hip, teens who have to deal with the all-too-real phenomenon of the vanishing adults, that hits their own homes sooner than later. The suicides spread quickly and soon society is left without gas or electricity and the barter system rules the day - I guess the kids never had the time or desire to learn how to run things like utilities or actual businesses. The gangs - we follow teens that were in gangs even before the pandemic - become more violent, as they have no other ideas as to how to survive in this new world.

Of course, they devolve into warring sections, just like "the oldies" and have the same kinds of problems, violence and obsessions, although they try to play it cool and say that they're not like them at all, particularly because they are freer sexually. Of course, the changing world changes the teens, as well, and despite themselves, out of necessity, they grow up, while hoping that they don't end up like the oldies.

Maybe it's just that the characters here are more relatable to this old man than the annoying hipsters of Killing Williamsburg, but I enjoyed this one and it's a fairly quick, easy read. Worth checking out, for sure!

The Executioner's Last Songs - The Pine Valley Cosmonauts

 

Our pal, Rob, duped this set for us, thinking that we might be able to use something in the Devil's Duo, and there are certainly plenty of apt cuts for us here! The Cosmonauts are a loose collective that sports some reasonably big names and in this case they are performing "songs of murder, mob-law, and cruel, cruel punishment", mostly acoustic-based, with an emphasis on country and bluegrass-oriented tunes as a benefit for The Illinois Death Penalty Moratorium Project.

Frankly, I'm not familiar with all of the artists featured here, but everyone does a fine job on their chosen numbers, with great playin'n'singin' throughout. Pretty much everything here is damn good, with highlights including fairly trad takes on "Knoxville Girl" (Brett Sparks), Rosie Flores sounding super as usual on "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive", a fun bluegrass version of "Gary Gilmore's Eyes" (Dean Schlabowske), Steve Earle's noisy "Tom Dooley", Edith Frost singin' sweetly on "Sing Me Back Home", Diane Izzo's impressive'n'expressive on "Oh Death", Jon Landford and Sally Timms doing a fab duet on "The Plans We Made", and Landford does a nice treatment on "Judgement Day" with Johnny Dowd, among plenty of others.

Fans of country, bluegrass, murder ballads and the like will certainly dig this one. I already ordered Volumes 2 and 3!

The Psyatics and Suburban Resistance at the Huntridge Tavern, Saturday July 16, 2022

 

Pre-pandemic, the Huntridge was one of our fave watering holes/live gigs due to its intimate atmosphere - which, of course, was a bit of a drawback during the height of Covid. Obviously, we're not in the clear yet, so this could come back to bite us at some point, but after a super fun Devil's Duo/Unwieldies show a month or so ago, we decided to see how a full electric gig would go down. Turns out, it was a blast!

Suburban Resistance frontman/singer Kevin has been super supportive of our various projects (and is a vinyl collector who has many crazy rare items that I have appeared on over the last several decades) and we've been trying to do something together for a while so I was happy that this opportunity came along. Although they look like a gang that you would not want to run into in a back alley off of Fremont, they're some of the nicest guys in town, as are their great, enthusiastic friends'n'fans.

Their sound is a bit hard to describe since they aren't trying to pigeon hole themselves, but they're a bit punk'n'roll, a bit 70's rock, a bit metal, a bit hardcore, but all the while concentrating on real songs with plenty of sing-along choruses with melodies and whoa-ohs that would make the Misfits jealous. Fine players all around, as well - totally recommended! They're having a record release show at the Dive Bar on August 13, and I'm sure there will be plenty more, so check 'em out! Oh yeah, and they even brought a smoke machine!

A tough act to follow, for sure, but the group and their friends'n'followers mostly hung out for the Psyatics' set, and continued with their enthusiastic, inebriated support throughout the night. Our set mixed old'n'new, as we do, with at least one brand new number that we managed to pull through, albeit with maybe a couple hiccups. In any case, we did our best to keep up the energy and interact with the crowd throughout our longer-than-usual set. A good time seemed to be had by all!

(Psyatics pix by Jeff Murphy - thanks buddy!)

Thank you to the Huntridge Tavern for being such a fun place to hang'n'play and we appreciated the investment in their own house PA! We will be back soon!

recommended gigs

 Thursday 7-14-22 - TV Party Tonight showing Forbidden Zone with live music from Tippy Elvis at the Double Down

Friday 7-15-22 - Shanda and the Howlers at Mabel's BBQ LV

Friday 7-15-22 - Cashed Out with Thee Hypnotiques at Soul Belly

Friday 7-15-22 - the Sheiks of Neptune with Ghostwood, Murder and Dredge at the Dive Bar

Friday 7-15-22 - The Souvenairs at the Mob Museum

Saturday 7-16-22 - The Psyatics and Suburban Resistance at the Huntridge Tavern

Monday 7-18-22 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 7-22-22 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf

Saturday 7-23-22 - The Dirty Hooks, Cherry Hill at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Saturday 7-23-22 - Alive, Pearl Jam tribute at Rock Star Bar

Saturday 7-23-22 - The Double Whammys at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 7-24-22 - Cromm Fallon and the P200, Raised on TV, Nova Babies at Red Dwarf

Wednesday 7-27-22 - The Rumours, Crimson Riot, Negative Nancys at Artifice

Friday 7-29-22 - the Hypnotiques at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 7-30-22 - The Devil's Duo and the Unwieldies at the Huntridge Tavern

Saturday 8-6-22 - Daytime show with The Unwieldies at the Clark County Library at 1401 E. Flamingo at 2:00 pm

Saturday 8-6-22 - Pat Todd and the Rank Outsiders, the Dogs, Neverland Ranch Davidians, Tramp for the Lord at the Double Down

Saturday 8-6-22 - Dirty Rock'n'Roll Dance Party presents the Surfrajetts, the Volcanics and the Sheiks of Neptune at the Usual Place

Thursday 8-11-22 - The Heroine with Big Like Texas at Soul Belly

Friday 8-12-22 - The Psyatics at the Huntridge Tavern with Stagnetti's Cock and Scorpion vs Tarantula for John Armstrong's birthday

Saturday 8-13-22 - Suburban Resistance record release show at the Dive Bar with special guests TBA

Thursday 8-25-22 - Jesse Daniel and the Rhyolite Sound at Soul Belly

Friday 8-26-22 - Dominick Muzio and the Chemical Tribe with Dead Money at Back Yard Bar and Grill

Sunday 8-28-22 - Tav Falco's Panther Burns with the Devil's Duo, Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Sand Dollar Downtown

Saturday 10-8-22 - the Queers, Venomous Pinks, Mercy Music, Jerk! at the Dive Bar

Wednesday 10-26-22 - The Peculiar Pretzelmen with the Devil's Duo at the Dive Bar

Killing Williamsburg - Bradley Spinelli

 

This is yet another book that I have no idea where I first heard about it, but thought the premise was interesting - a up'n'coming (i.e. gentrified) neighborhood in NYC in the late 90's has an alarming number of unexplained suicides. Of course, it starts slow and no one initially notices the pattern, but then it becomes undeniable and the protagonists have to decide how they are going to handle the bizarre situation.

The narrator is an aimless, hedonistic partier, with no plans for his life and only occasional, part-time employment and, frankly, seems a bit boorish, and is extremely insensitive to the suicides at first, even when they start to effect people within his social circle. He handles it as you would expect any selfish hedonist to - he ignores it, gets high and has random sex (which, all too often, turns into a bad idea as the new partners do themselves in, as well).

There is a little bit that is disconcerting in the narrative when it switches from first person to third person for the first (only?) time for a couple of pages with no explanation. The gratuitous, continuous sex scenes do tend to bore after a bit, as well - we get the idea - he's a hedonist. 

But, of course, the epidemic brings out the best in him, and he organizes other survivors who stick around (those who leave are derisively described as “Deserters”) and they do their best to bring some sanity to an insane world.

Again, an interesting premise but there was something about the style of the writing,  or maybe it was the personality of the narrator, that rubbed me the wrong way a bit. Certainly not bad, but not sure that I could recommend it.

Before Watchmen - Comedian/Rorschach

 

Yet another purchase from the hip, happening Cemetery Pulp, I have been intrigued by this series although I haven't picked up much yet, but these two twisted characters combined together made for a fairly irresistible package.

The Comedian's story shows him to be a close confidante to John F Kennedy, but also an important PR figure in the fight against crime and eventually he is brought in to help with the ungainly war-that-was-not-declared in Viet Nam. Of course, he can't help but go rogue, and we see some of his adventures there as well as the repercussions in the States. His interactions with John & Robert Kennedy run the gamut, and he has his own reasons for everything that he does, which many of us may not agree with but there is a certain logic, from the Comedian's perspective.

Rorschach has his own reasons for his war on crime and, of course, he is flawed in many ways - a loner from a broken home (to put it mildly), who is slightly insane, but obsessive about doing whatever he can to clean up the city (NYC). He is nearly taken out by some low-grade thugs, but he turns the tables on them and although he does not capture the serial killer on the loose, he gets revenge for the killer's victims when he is released from the legal system on a technicality. There's even an appearance by Travis Bickle, who was certainly somewhat of an influence.

Good storytelling and artwork, as befitting the Watchmen series - certainly something for the fans!