It's been a long time since I've made it out to a club show, but had to get to the Usual Place for Switzerland's The Monsters (featuring the great Rev. Beat Man) along with two of the best local bands, the Implosions and the Psyatics, the latter for their second to last gig before singer Rob moves out of town!
Las Vegas' own Vegas-themed band, the Implosions, opened the night with their brand of Cramps-ian garage. This co-ed combo (two married couples - sorry folks, no one is available!) have done a number of other projects together over the years but this one is certainly my fave! Songs about taking pics with a million dollars, playing the ponies (an old school arcade-styled game, not live animals) and buildings being "imploded" are backed with strong dynamics, cool riffs, fuzzed guitars, snappy drums and hip singing/ screaming/dancing from front woman Adrienne. At least a couple of new songs appeared in the set - a feedback/fuzzed-out, bass-riff groover really stood out - and they are hoping to record again soon (make sure you pick up the CD they already have out!). Their tunes are only getting stronger! One of Vegas' best!
Of course, I've always been a fanatic for The Psyatics and I had played with them for a couple/few years until my ailing pup sidelined me. Now guitar-about-town-man Joe Matkowsky is sitting in the second guitar slot (playing with/against Jack Ball, of course) and it's quite interesting to see his version of my version of the songs that we played together. They have also pulled out a couple of older numbers since I last sat in with them for a strong set of garage/psych/noise rockers from the Banana Splits' "Gonna Find Me a Cave" to Pink Floyd's "Pigs" to the Hoodoo Gurus "Dig It Up" to the Scientists' Fate Deals Its Mortal Blow" mixed in with their fab originals including new-ish ones like "Cease To Exist" and "Tabula Rasa" along with older numbers like "Oncoming Train" (which they hadn't done in years), "Trainwreck", "Psyatic Nerves", "Bourbon Sway", "Sin Eater" and "Gentlemen of Four Outs". Everyone was on top of their game for this set with Joe filling in different licks, Jack moving from wild washes of sound to jazzy riffs, Ron' terrific and complex drumming and, of course, Rob's highly original bass runs and great singing (even the Rev Beat Man complimented his style)! They've been a mainstay of the Vegas scene for 12 years now and they will leave a huge gap here when they stop playing. You have one more chance to see them at the Double Down Saloon on Friday May 10th so be sure to see them one last time (at least for the foreseeable future).
There was a secret surprise set by the new version of the Delta Bombers, now with the acoustic-guitar-playing singer of the Guana Bats - so, the Guana Bombers or the Delta Bats? They did a short sets with covers like a sped-up "Lonesome Train" along with some Bomber originals to a very appreciative crowd. Obviously, it's a very different vibe without Chris fronting the guys, but I think that their audience will still dig 'em.
The evening's headliners were Switzerlands The Monsters, featuring the fantastic Rev. Beat Man, who put on a fabulous one-man-band-plus-one a few years ago out here so I had to get out to see his full band. I believe that the line-up has been fairly fluid over the years but this version of the Monsters is a snappily dressed trio, who packed a wild'n'powerful punch. They were extremely loud - to the point that it was hard to discern what they were doing at times - other than the fact that it was simple, loud'n'fast punked-up, garage rev'n'roll. The Rev. is a fun'n'funny front man, with a good rapport with the audience and while most of the songs are just a couple chords played at a high speed, there were times of dynamics and some nice lead guitar work here'n'there. There are also some truly heavy moments when the fuzz guitar sounds almost Sabbath-y doom-y as well as times of extremely prolonged single chord beginnings and endings. So primitive that it's clever in its "stoopidity"! Considering how many legends come to Vegas and play to next to no one, I was surprised and impressed by the turn out and the number of people who were Monsters fanatics, singing along with the songs and raving with them from start to finish!
Once again, Brian Moy's Dirty Rock'n'Roll Dance Party brought a fab line-up to Vegas and the Usual Place! Great night all the way through!
