Reverend Beat-Man / Izobel Garcia - Baile Bruja Muerto

 

The title of this album translates to "Dance Witch Death", which is pretty appropriate for the sounds therein. We saw this duo 7 years ago here in Vegas and was knocked out by their presentation of blues/ European folk / garage / punk / lunacy. 

Izobel's hauntingly lovely voice opens "Pero Te Amo (But I Love You)" acapella until the Rev comes in with his distinctive growl and some heavy guitar chords, which somehow blends together and works. From there we get a 60's garage keyboard opening for "Come Back Lord" that Beat-Man raves over, but with a call'n'answer chorus - wild'n'wacky'n'sacrilegious but a catchy, bouncy garage tune. Izobel sings the fuzz-garager "I Never Told You", "Black Metal" is a sparse number of the Rev's - kinda Waits/White Sttripes-y, sorta/kinda - cool'n'weird in a hip way. "Viva la Figa" is a bit of 50's bouncey r'n'r with cheesy organ that moves quickly into "Lass Uns Liebe Machen", a duet between the two with the Rev's simple guitar lines backing them in a European folk style - very effective! "Macorina" again highlights Izobel's fine vocals in a European folk settings, but with the Rev's unique twists, of course - speaking of which, he does his own dirgey, bluesy interpretation of the Doors' "Love Me Two Times", "Nerviosa" has a simple drum machine/keys backing for a moody, spooky feel, "I'll Take Care of You" sounds like a spoof on 50's love songs, especially with the Rev's growl, and they end with "My Name Reverend Beatman" where he introduces himself and his legacy'n'philosophy and how he created the world over a simple, bluesy background.

Beat-Man'n'friends sound like no one else, although he has been influenced and has influenced countless others. I love this stuff - pick up anything you can find and see him any time you can!

Reverend Beat-Man and the Un-Believers - Get on Your Knees

 

While all of the Beat-Man records have a similar feel due to the Beat-Man touch, each one that I have heard also has their own unique flavors due to the guests that appear with him. In this case, among others, the Get Lost (Rob - slide guitar'n'harp, Gerry - organ/piano and Chris - drums, natch) all show up at various times, and while this does not sound like the Rev fronting the Get Lost, there are some fine variations here. 

This opens with a little Carl Perkins-styled blues/country guitar for "Get On Your Knees" - a kinda rockabilly-ish trek through salvation for wronging the Rev, "Come Back Lord" is a bit of garage blues with cool starts'n'stops'n'dynamics (with a new variation on the "Primitive"/"Smokestack Lightning" riff) and call'n'answer choruses, "Back in Hell" is mellower with some country elements, highlighted by Rob's slide guitar (maybe a little reminiscent of the Scientists?), "How Far Can You Go" is an off-kilter garage-punk screamer while "Save My Soul From Hell" is a little quieter with moody organ and a hip groove but the Rev still goes a bit manic as he preaches over the simple backing. A choppy rhythm propels "Ring the Bells For Me", giving it another garage/blues style that continues in "The Lord Is Coming Back" in a Slim Harpo-ish kinda way with another hip, call'n'answer chorus.

A bouncy garage groove drives "Oh Lord I", with more wild slide guitar and a heckuva hollerin' gospel preach'n'response and stompin' ending! It quiets down for a twisted country blues in "You Don't Have To Do It", and returns for a swingin' drivin' beat in the succinctly titled "Fuck You Jesus Fuck You Oh Lord", which besides a lovely sentiment, has some crazed guitar work and insane noize under the Rev's rants. He kinda does a take off on the "Hang Up" riff in "Show Me How" and builds this into a wild rave-up, there's a simple, open, repetitive guitar lick that is the basis for "You Don't Know", but the band layers on top of it giving it a hep fullness and then the whole proceeding closes with the love song "Popcorn Up Your Arse", which actually has a terrific, catchy riff, more cool slide work and great dynamics.

Gotta dig the Man's blasphemous lyrics and wild style, no matter who accompanies him! Always great stuff!

Rev Beat-Man and the Underground - It's a Matter of Time

 

 

In this release, the B-Man is backed by a full band and while he normally has extra musicians on his releases, and each one has its own feel, this definitely sounds like a hip garage band behind the Rev's madness.

With songs like the opening "I Want To Fuck You", you know what you're going to get - garage r'n'r (this time with keys) backing Rev's trashy guitar'n'growl. "Slave to the Phone" sounds like much of his solo work - certainly a good thing! - simple, raw guitar chords, but over a strong, dynamic rhythm backing. We get a bit of the Rev's usual blasphemy in his dirgey new dance craze, the "Jesus Christ Twist", which is pretty ferocious with a massive wash of guitars'n'keys while "Shut Up" highlights guitarist Benjomin along with Rev's shrieks'n'wails and is pure punk'n'garage mania - terrifically crazed! "Mongolian Talks To Alien" is simply beautiful noise (he actually performed this one with backing tapes at his most recent show here), "It's a Matter of Time" is a huge shift in tone'n'style for a sparse, almost country-ish, almost ambient, David Lynch-ian ballad before we get back to the mid-tempo garage-ish / key-dominated "Get Down On Me". "Banned From The Internet" is a country romp complaining about modern media woes, "Lass Uns Liebe Machen" (which has appeared on another record in a very different form) has machinegun rolls of noise, "Back In Hell" is appropriately moody, with sparse, reverbed guitar licks and a little keys as the Rev sings of love'n'revenge, and the CD closes with "You're On Top" which continues in the bare-bones, Lynchian fashion, but builds in intensity throughout.

Another terrific outing from the Rev'n'friends! Pick up anything you can find by the man and be sure to see him if he comes anywhere near you!

Americana - Ray Davies

 

I just found out about this 2013 tome via another book on the Kinks and lo and behold, our library carries it so I grabbed it.

Of course, I was a Kinks fan in the 60's when their raucous, riotous r'n'r anthems were bursting out of the AM radio everywhere. Power chords and catchy melodies'n'lyrics always caught my ears. When they moved into more sedate material I lost interest for the longest time but I have been discovering some of the gems that didn't make it onto American radio and have a deeper appreciation for these works. I did enjoy Ray's other book, X-Ray (apparently, before I had this blog), so I wanted to see what he had to offer in this one.

Here he talks of his mindset at the time or writing, living off'n'on in New Orleans, sometimes with an American woman that he was infatuated with, but he seemed to be in a contact state of instability or something - not sure at all what he wanted or how to obtain it. He uses his lyrics to emphasis particular points that he is making, although, as lyrics, they are more open to interpretation, which is possibly his point in adding them to the narrative.

He does concentrate on what America meant and still means to him - he goes back'n'forth between remembrances and his then-current state - as is fitting for the concept of the book - and it contains eulogies for many of the characters that he met in the States as well as the band experiences.

Naturally, he talks at length about his shooting, which, while "simply" a wound to his leg, was much more serious than I understood it to be at the time, as it shattered a femur and he needed a titanium rod inserted, which does not sound pleasant at all. Obviously, this subject was literally life-changing to him, but he does dwell on it a bit longer than is "necessary" - if such a word applies to a book.

In any case, Ray is a fine writer, of prose as well as songs, and the book is enjoyable even if it does get a bit bogged down towards the end. Still, glad to hear that he managed to create his own successful solo career after the Kinks wound down. Fans will definitely want to check out this one.

recommended gigs

             

Friday 8-29-25 - the Double Whamnys at the Composers Room

Saturday 8-30-25 - the Minges, Big Rob of Southpaw, Scooter Hyland at the Double Down

Saturday 8-30-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 8-31-25 - the Surfers of Mercy at Red Dwarf’s Sunday Brunch

Friday 9-5-25 - Jessika Von Rabbit, Same Sex Mary, Hassan, Switterbeet at the Usual Place 

Friday 9-5-25 - the New Waves at the Sand Dollar

Friday 9-5-25 - Soft Echo and the Dirty Hooks at Dustland Bar

Saturday 9-13-25 - Cheetah Chrome's Dead Boys, the Shakewells, Bad Days Only, Burn Kit at the Dive Bar

Saturday 9-13-25 Neverland Ranch Davidians at the Double Down 

Friday 9-22-25 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-26-25 - No Que No, 12 Step Rebels, Santa Muerte, Femaliens at the Griffin

Sunday 9-28-25 - Zombie Rumble at Area 15 with the Shakewells, Cromm Fallon and the P200, Terror Attach, MIA, Guilt by Association, the Dollheads, the McCharmlys, CoDefendants, Manic Hispanic, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Rev Horton Heat

Friday 10-17-25 - Mr. Dark's Pandemonium at the Double Down

Saturday 10-18-25 - the return of the Psyatics to the Double Down! With Three Rounds and Pitch After Dark

Wednesday 10-22-25 - Gwar at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf

Rev. Beat Man, the Crotches, Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at the Usual Place - Saturday 8-23-25

I really loved Rev. Beat Man's show when the Swamp Gospel got to play with him back in 2018 and I have played the one CD I got at the time to death so I was really looking forward to seeing his one-man band performance (as opposed to the garage madness of the Monsters that came through last year) once again. 

Rik Collins (Wooly Bandits, Sloths, Seeds, etc. etc. etc.) DJ'd the night with some phenomenal slabs of garage rock'n'roll to keep everyone entertained in-between acts. Nice guy and great taste in music (and some truly enviable 45's)!

Opening the live music segment of the eve was Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones. We dug them when the Devil's Duo played with them 3 years ago (almost to the day!) but have not had a chance to see them since (as we have not been seeing much of anyone) so we were happy that they were on the bill. There was a new cat keeping the beat behind the kit and no bassist this time out, but the guitar/key/drum line-up still gave a full sounds as they fluctuated from rockabilly to garage and a bit of Cramps thrown in (who, of course, merged rockabilly and garage themselves) with some cool noise guitar and wacky theremin (the keyboardist simultaneously played keys, percussion and theremin - with her mouth at times!) added to the mix. They don't seem to play out all that often but are super fun so check 'em out when they do!

New to the Dirty Rock'n'Roll Dance Party stable is the Crotches, with members from both LA and LV and a kinda weird, disjointed'n'unique version of garage-y punk'n'roll with a super strong drummer, good harmonies, a bit of vocal effects, a bit of furious punk rock but with odd time signatures and their own twists'n'turns. For some reason they reminded me a little of really early (pre-record label) Janes Addiction but I'm not sure how legit that is or if that was just me being weird. In any case, they are definitely entertaining with a charismatic, wacky looking lead singer who would do things like break a beer bottle over his head and carry the guitarist on his shoulders. 

As I said, we were pretty knocked out when we saw the Rev previously as a duo, and this evening's one-man show was different but equally great. More garage-punk than blues this time out, he was also more theatrical, with backing tapes playing while he set up the stage with banners and his cases with slogans on them, then later put on a priestly outfit, then doing a bit of a strip tease and still later putting on a sloppy blond wig to wander through the audience for some strangeness and ending by shaking the hands of the individual audience members. Overall, he played simple, trashy, upbeat garage punk (think maybe there was more variety in his blues/European folk stylings last time) that kept the crowd (not packed, but a good showing for the night) up on their feet rockin' with him the entire time - even got an encore, which is rare for Las Vegas! Here's hoping that he doesn't wait 7 years before returning to Vegas!

Once again, thanks to Brian Moy's Dirty Rock'n'Roll Dance Party and the Usual Place for hosting another great night of different, fun, rock'n'roll! 

(ALL PHOTOS BY Melanie Coffee - Coffee Concert Photography!)

recommended gigs

            

Saturday 8-23-25 - Rev Beat Man at the Usual Place with the Crotches and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones

Saturday 8-23-25 - Punk'n'Country, Femailiens, Broke in Vegas at the Double Down

Saturday 8-23-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 8-24-25 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch and then later at the Gipsy Nightclub

Monday 8-25-25 - The Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 8-29-25 - the Double Whamnys at the Composers Room

Saturday 8-30-25 - the Minges, Big Rob of Southpaw, Scooter Hyland at the Double Down

Saturday 8-30-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 8-31-25 - the Surfers of Mercy at Red Dwarf’s Sunday Brunch

Friday 9-5-25 - Jessika Von Rabbit, Same Sex Mary, Hassan, Switterbeet at the Usual Place 

Friday 9-5-25 - the New Waves at the Sand Dollar

Friday 9-22-25 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-13-25 - Cheetah Chrome's Dead Boys, the Shakewells, Bad Days Only, Burn Kit at the Dive Bar

Saturday 9-13-25 Neverland Ranch Davidians at the Double Down 

Friday 9-26-25 - No Que No, 12 Step Rebels, Santa Muerte, Femaliens at the Griffin

Friday 10-17-25 - Mr. Dark at the Double Down

Saturday 10-18-25 - the return of the Psyatics to the Double Down!

Wednesday 10-22-25 - Gwar at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf

Oh, Didn't They Ramble - David Menconi

 

The subtitle, "Rounder Records and the Transformation of American Roots Music", tells you all you need to know about this tale. Rounder Recorders was (and, apparently, still is) a label dedicated to Americana music before there was such a title. Started in the early 60's - the folk-oriented, pre-Beatles era - Rounder simply recorded what they were interested in, without a real interest in commercial sales (although that did come later). As liberal folk hippies (interestingly enough, they did try to stop their workers from unionizing later in the label's career, much to the chagrin of their earlier selves!) they gathered plenty of acoustic roots music (again, before the label really existed) from the South, but were not above a number of other styles, from blues to "Hollers"! Of course, as they grew and expanded - and their tastes did, as well - they gained popularity with the likes of George Thorogood (and others that I don't know) and provided an even wider variety of music.

The three founders of Rounder met in college - two roommates and a female friend - and their love of folk and related music solidified their friendship. They traveled the country in search of the sounds they dug and after encounters with others who were pressing records of unique individuals, they decided to try their hands at it themselves.

Starting slow, with just 2 releases the first year - fittingly, an old timer and a new group playing old time music - the label quickly grew with dozens of releases by their third year. They continued mixing old and new artists throughout their career and even expanded their musical orbits as they went along. Everything changed for them when they took a change on a blues-rocker (while rootsy, he was pretty different from anything that they had done before) and signed George Thorogood and his records slowly built up and went gold!

Even that added income mostly went into releasing more music and they expanded farther with everything from traditional sounds from Louisiana to reggae to African to Asian and more! I can't say that I am fans of everything that Rounder has put out, but you have to appreciate their fervor and their wide ranging tastes (especially considering how the label started!).

Thorogood wasn't the only artist to eventually move to a major, although most of the popular acts are are unfamiliar to me, but I love the story that Rounder got to reissue 10 out of print Warner Brothers records in a contract! They also kept a number of artists with them while going gold and platinum - quite a feat for an independent label!

Eventually, though, the Rounder Founders did decide to pull back and sold the label, which caused it to become more corporate, which disappointed some of their steadfast artists, even if they understood. The quantity as well as the quality diminished and while the label still exists, it is not (apparently) the powerhouse it once was.

I really dug this one - a well-told tale of a classic independent label. Kudos to all involved!

recommended gigs

           

Saturday 8-16-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-18-25 - The Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-23-25 - Rev Beat Man at the Usual Place with the Crotches and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones

Saturday 8-23-25 - Punk'n'Country, Femailiens, Broke in Vegas at the Double Down

Saturday 8-23-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-25-25 - The Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-30-25 - the Minges, Big Rob of Southpaw, Scooter Hyland at the Double Down

Saturday 8-30-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-5-25 - Jessika Von Rabbit at the Usual Place 

Friday 9-12-25 - Bear Supply at the Double Down

Saturday 9-13-25 - Cheetah Chrome's Dead Boys, the Shakewells, Bad Days Only, Burn Kit at the Dive Bar

Saturday 9-13-25 Neverland Ranch Davidians at the Double Down 

Wednesday 10-22-25 - Gwar at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf

The Implosions, VaVoom, Gang Bang, Dad's Weekend at Red Dwarf Saturday August 10, 2025

 

We're trying to make up for lost time and get out and see shows again and this was another jam-packed night of bands that we wanted to check out so off we went for drinks'n'pizza at Red Dwarf!

Opening the evening was an offshoot of the Hideaway called Dad's Weekend, a co-ed combo (a theme for the night, apparently) with guys on drums'n'guitar and gals on stand-up bass'n'vocals. So, a little rockabilly (including a 50's styled take on "Cherry Bomb"), a little punk, a bit of surf, a bit new wave and whatever else they decided to throw into the mix, including a mashup of "Wipe Out" and "Batman" for their finale. I think this was their debut and a few bits'n'pieces could be tightened up, but this could become a combo to watch.

A surprise 3 song set from a new Vegas super group called Gang Bang included members of VaVoom, the Implosions and Dad's Weekend with three female bassists. Purposefully silly, they literally "meowed" their way through "Tequila" and "California Sun" before Adrienne of the Implosions joined them to actually sing for Bikini Kill's "Rebel Girl". Overall, totally goofy but actually interesting if they wanted to get serious with it.

VaVoom started out a couple of years ago, just as we kinda quarantined ourselves for various reasons so this was our first chance to check them out. Ex-Mad Daddy's drummer Jomar propels the three piece with his wife Kelly on bass and guitarist Chad. There's a bit of surf, a bit of garage, a bit of Mad Daddy's-ish Crampsian sounds (I think there might have even been a Mad Daddy cover in the set), and even a bit of rockabilly (Hasil Atkins' "The Hunch"). Jomar and Chad divide the vocals and they definitely have their fan base who were out in force this eve!

Our pals and local celebs the Implosions closed the night with their rockin' brand of garage mixed with Cramps-like spooky/fuzz fare. The set did not vary wildly from the great set at the Swan Dive last week, although they did throw in a couple new/different tunes to change things up a bit. I dig their good-natured moodiness, the cool fuzzed out riffs and fine dynamics and still think they're one of the better combos in town. 

Red Dwarf was packed from start to finish this night so catch these combos while you can!

The Kinks - A Thoroughly English Phenomenon - Carey Fleiner

 

Right from the start Fleiner explains that the purpose of this book is not to give a true biography but to explore some of the themes that the band expounded upon - from their lyrics to their style and specifically, the Englishness.

This is another fairly analytical look at a group (in a similar vein to the Shangri-Las story I recently read) with a 100 page introduction outlining what Fleiner hopes to accomplish in the various chapters, as opposed to letting the chapters speak for themselves, which again makes the tale sound more like a dissertation or thesis rather than an entertaining tale.

Each chapter gives a bit of Kinks history (Kinkstory?) but also tries to place the Ray, Dave and the band in the context of British culture - pop and otherwise - of the time. Fleiner also brings up more modern books, biographies and especially plays based on the Kinks to make a point about their earlier years.

I never do this, but I borrowed this from the library and while it had some interesting concepts and info, it was dry enough that I couldn't finish it before it was due and I didn't bother to renew it. I grabbed a different Ray Davies book instead. So, guess I can't recommend this one too much...

RIP Bobby Whitlock

Bobby Whitlock, Derek and the Dominos Co-Founder and Session Player for George Harrison and Others, Dies at 77 

---

He's been a part of more sessions than you can imagine - sad to hear of his passing.

recommended gigs

              

Thursday 8-7-25 - the New Waves at Red Dwarf

Saturday 8-9-25 - VaVoom and the Implosions at Red Dwarf

Saturday 8-9-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-11-25 - The Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-16-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-18-25 - The Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-23-25 - Rev Beat Man at the Usual Place with the Crotches and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones

Saturday 8-23-25 - Punk'n'Country, Femailiens, Broke in Vegas at the Double Down

Saturday 8-23-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-25-25 - The Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-30-25 - The Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-5-25 - Jessika Von Rabbit at the Usual Place 

Saturday 9-13-25 - Cheetah Chrome's Dead Boys, the Shakewells, Bad Days Only, Burn Kit at the Dive Bar

Friday 8-16-25 - No Que No, Femalians, 12 Step Rebels, Santa Muerte at the Griffin

Wednesday 10-22-25 - Gwar at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 11-7-25 - the snares, the violet minefield, the Shakewells at the Usual Place

Friday 12-5-25 - Frank Meyer, the Strains, Nick Oliveri of Queens of the Stone Age and the Shakewells at Red Dwarf

Suburban Resistance at the Punk Rock Museum - Sunday August 3, 2025

 

We've dug Suburban Resistance's punk'n'roll sound since first hearing them a few years back and the fact that they are damn nice folks on top of it means that we want to support them any time that we can. This mini-set was their first with their new drummer and they got plenty of their fans (and won over some new fans, for sure) to witness this debut in the cramped-but-fun quarters of TPRM.

The performance space is super tiny - barely enough for the 5 of them to fit in (it is meant to emulate a garage rehearsal space) - but the sound is surprisingly good and, of course, the band (punk-) rocked it!

While I have a couple of their records, their recorded output is staggering so I am not familiar with every song of their, and at least one of today's was brand new, but their Misfits-esque whoa-whoas and clap-along tunes means that the audience can easily interact - and they happily do! 

Front person Kevin stalks the stage and the crowd (good naturedly) and handed out stickers mid set while the band slammed through the few catchy, hook-laden songs. The band is super tight and the new drummer (sorry, I didn't catch his name) fit in perfectly this afternoon.

We're looking forward to catching a full set from these cats soon - glad to have them back in the scene!

The Dirty Hooks, Shanda and the Howlers and the Implosions at the Swan Dive, Saturday 8-2-25

 

Now that we are able to get out'n'about again, we are trying to catch up on shows and friends' bands that we have missed for so long and this evening's triple threat was something that we couldn't pass up!

Having never been to the Swan Dive before, we didn't know what to expect and while it is a bit more upscale than our normal haunts (with drink prices a little bit higher, as well, although not completely out of reason), and it is a fairly large concert room, it has a great stage with real lighting and a real PA system. The sound overall was quite good throughout the night and it was fun to see cool bands in this habitat. (Although my one criticism would be that they should have a little bit of seating against the walls for tired, old folks.)

In any case, our friends the Implosions opened the night at the very reasonable time of 8:00 pm-ish to a room that was just starting to fill up, but had a decent amount of enthusiastic folks. I have always dug the Implosions mix of punk, garage and kinda-moody, Cramps-ian tunes and tonight every aspect was on fine display. They've been around for a few years now and are tighter than ever (natch) with hip stage presence (front woman Adrienne is particularly good'n'showy and has a great voice, as well) and plenty of dynamics with a good variety in tempo'n'styles - and some great fuzz! They have a new album out (which I did not get this eve but will next time we see them) and so there was a cool mix of old'n'new tunes. I really like the variety that they have, which kinda makes my fave Cramps-ian songs stand out even more. The lyrics are all Vegas-themed ("Showgirl", "Million Dollar Photo", "Free Aspirin and Sympathy", "Graveyard Shift", "Ponies") and there was a good bit of audience interaction for "Cash Out" where anyone could grab a mini-tambourine to emulate the cash out sounds (and everyone returned them, as well!). Great start of the night!

Shanda and the Howlers have been another fave since they hit the scene and we were pleased when they were added to this bill as we haven't see them in ages, either, and it seems like they are not playing as many local shows as they once did. With Turbo's propulsive'n'dynamic drumming driving the band, locking in with Luke's hips bass lines and Trevor's stinging (and sometimes mellow) guitar lines, Jeffrey ads terrific harp playing on top of the mix (although mixed a little low in the sound system this time out) and it is all filled out by Shanda's extraordinary vocals - they are a team to be reckoned with! Exceptional souful'n'bluesy originals and fun covers like the Sonics' "Shot Down" had the crowd eating from their hands right from the start. I hope that they get back into the swing of local gigs!

We were quite impressed the the Dirty Hooks managed to practically pack the place for their new album release party (again, I will need to pick that up next time around) and put on a particularly rockin' show from start to finish. Exceptional vocals from everyone, excellent drumming, hip 6-string bass lines and powerful guitar lines hightlighted the set. While I'm not overly familiar with their material (I have only seen them once before), I believe that they mostly, if not only, played their new album, which was a hit with the crowd. They put out a heckuva sound for a three piece, with the drummer triggering the occasional sample - as if she didn't have enough to do! - for added depth, and Anthony adding the occasional keys. Oh yeah, the Howlers' Trevor joined them for a tune, as well! They have a hip, alt-rock kinda sound that, dare I say it? - it actually commercial. They certainly have plenty of people on their side already so who knows where they could take this?! 

Fun night from start to finish - thanks to the Swan Dive for hosting hip, local music!