RIP Aline Kiminsky-Crumb

Pioneering Underground Cartoonist Aline Kominsky-Crumb Dies At 74 

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Mighty Marvel Masterworks: X-Men Volume 2

 As I've said, I'm really enjoying these Mighty Marvel Masterworks series and revisiting the stories that I first read in the 1960's and the originals have long since disappeared. 

In this second volume collection of the X-Men series, we follow the mutants as they continue to grow and fight their arch-enemy, Magneto, they - and we - learn the origin of Professor X and his half-brother, cleverly named Cain, who becomes the invincible Juggernaut, followed by the introduction of the Sentinels and one of my favorite villains, the Mimic.

I'm sure it helps that I grew up on these tales, but I love the storytelling - even if there is always a bit of misogyny towards the female characters, no matter how powerful they are - and while the artwork is not the best of the era, the layouts are top notch and exciting.

I'll always recommend early Marvel stories and love rereading them - always a fun time!

The Heiz - Hey Ho Go Johnny Go

 

Las Vegas' favorite Japanese band, the Heiz, are back in action, having just played innumerable shows in town for their sponsor, the Double Down Saloon and its 30th anniversary along with numerous other locations. This new record has just been released on Squidhat Records, a kinda mini-LP, as it's a brief 8 songs, but it's jam-packed with their own brand of garage/Ramones/50's styled, goofball punk'n'roll!

Made up of half covers and half originals - apparently guitarist Shak is the primary songwriter - they start out with one of their clever merging of the Ramones and 50's Rock'n'Roll (not a stretch, I know) in the title track, guaranteed to have the crowd singing along while they pogo! It's one of their best high energy punk'n'rollers with great playing by everyone! They give the Undertones "Teenage Kicks" a straight-forward, rockin' run-through then continue with their obsession with pizza in the more 60's-sounding "Best Pizza Shop" sung by drummer Takashi - he sings all the food related tunes, apparently! Bassist Asako fronts their version of the Sonics' "Psycho", their ode to the Double Down's slogan, "Shut Up and Drink, Part 2" is total Ramones, while their take on "Great Balls of Fire" is super swingin'. "What The Hell" is a memorable stompin' pounder and they close things out with a staple of their live sets, Asako's rendition of "My Way", which - probably goes without saying - is so much better than Sid's it's crazy! Or it's just rock'n'roll!

Always a silly, rockin' good time - you kinda can't go wrong with the Heiz if you're lookin' for fun! Dig it!

The Heiz, the Psyatics, Mondo Vermin at the Double Down 30th anniversary weekender, Friday Nov 25, 2022

 

Just as Covid hit, the Psyatics were supposed to go to Japan to do a week of shows with the Heiz, which, of course, did not happen. That means that it has been several years since we have seen each other so naturally we wanted to get on one of the gigs that they are playing in town and we wanted to help celebrate the DD's 30th anniversary, as well, so glad that this all came about!

Dirk Vermin is a Las Vegas mainstay of the punk rock scene who has been in innumerable bands over the years as well as being a tattoo artist to the stars. Tonight he fronted MondoVermin, and while he enjoys the dumb'n'dirty jokes that are also a mainstay of the Vegas scene, he also knows his punk rock history, as shown by the opening number of the night, Fleetwood Mac's by the way of the Rezillos/Rubber City Rebels - "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight"! He also played songs that he's written over the years, from "Mothra Vs Frankenstein" that I believe is in the repertoire of the band he does with the Double Down's owner, P Moss, Bloodcocks UK, along with a song Dirk wrote in NY simply titled "Roach" and numerous others. Simple, tight, punk'n'roll - good start to the night and an appropriate figure to represent Vegas in this 30th anniversary celebration! Oh yeah, they also brought up Franks'n'Deans guitarist/vocalist RP Sampson to sing a silly metal cover or something that I didn't know cuz I'm old! 

Of course, the stars of the night were Japan's premier roots/Ramones rock'n'roll band, the Heiz, back for the first time in several years. They are playing every night - and sometimes more than once - for their stay in town but are here specifically to participate in the DD's anniversary. Being Moss' favorite band,  he brings them out as often as he can, especially for the anniversary shows (they are playing tonight at the DD, as well, along with all of the other gigs) and they always bring in a huge crowd. And yes, the DD was jam packed from well before any music started until the wee wee hours of the night.

This three piece has harnessed the energy at the heart of rock'n'roll and displays it every time they hit the stage. They never stop moving from start to finish, with hats flying (constantly - it's essentially a joke that the hat goes on and then flies off literally a second later), bodies flailing, choreographed moves, and everyone dancin'n'singin' along. There were some brand new songs in the set (I picked up their new CD so more on that later) along with a large number of covers, from the festive "Felix Navidad" to "Keep On Knockin'" to "Do You Wanna Dance" to "Walking in the Sand" to "My Way"! Of course, there were also number from their various albums, and odes to pizza, fast food and the Ramones!

Confetti cannons went off several times throughout their reasonably length set (politely not taking up too much time since the Psyatics had to play after) which littered every square inch of the the bar for the rest of the night and dancers boogaloo'd throughout and shouted'n'screamed'n'sang along and danced the whole night through! Always a good time, the Heiz proved that Covid did not slow them down in the least! 

It's always tough playing clean up after an extraordinary combo like the Heiz but the Psyatics managed to keep at least a portion of the crowd in the bar and entertained throughout our longer-than-normal set, with folks dancing the entire time! Lots of brand new tunes mixed with older numbers kept the folks on their feet, which is always a pleasure, and cheering us on until way past the wee hours of the morning. 

The two nights that I've experienced of the 30th anniversary celebration have been an incredible success and I'm certain that tonight will be no exception, although there is no way that I can make it out again. Someone else review the Saturday show, ok?!

Basstravaganza featuring Thee Swank Bastards for the Double Down Saloon's 30th Anniversary!

 

Legend has it that Basstravaganza started 9 (?) years ago when Thee Swank Bastards were schedule to play for the Double Down Saloon's anniversary weekend and their bassist (Shawn Coleman at the time, I believe) couldn't make it so guitarist/leader Jesse put out the word out that he needed a sub and a number of peeps showed up. So from then on, Basstravaganza strives to have the same number of bassists as there are anniversary years, but that isn't always possible as in this year, for instance, two bassists got sick at the last minute, although in the end, I think we were only down one for the 30th anniversary. 

In any case, Thee Swank Bastards now have a rotating membership of some of the best bassists and drummers in Las Vegas and so besides the dozens of basses, we also had 5 drummers accompanying Jesse, who also gave up his guitar to Jeff Murphy, who often plays bass in the group but is also a stellar guitarist in his own right. 

There are too many players to name everyone - and, frankly, I don't know everybody who was on stage last night - but big thanks to Jesse for including us in the celebration (although Mel caught the Covid and couldn't play) and to all the terrif drummers. Great to see everyone again - we always say that this is officially the start of the holiday season in Las Vegas! Of course, a huge shout out to Professor Rex Dart for MC'ing the evening, and thanks to Moss and the Double Down and their fantastic crew for hosting the event!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays to all!