We try to make it out any time our old friend Kepi comes to town and once we saw that this lineup that was jam-packed with local pals, we knew we had to make the long trek across town to the hinterlands of Henderson for the gig!
Local outer space enthusiasts the Femaliens opened the night with their own brand of ET-inspired punk rock'n'roll (with a dash of politics and general revulsion of certain aspects of the human race). But, their punk rock is varied with mid-tempo numbers, oldies-sounding tunes, and a touch of country now'n'again for plenty of different sounds to barrage your auditory senses. And they changed things up a bit more when the bassist handed over her instrument to the lead guitarist in order to sing a doo-wop inspired tune with a lovely "fuck you" message - she has a fine voice, too! Still a relatively new combo, they are plenty of fun and a cool start of the evening.
Jerk! has been on a hiatus for various reasons, but now have returned with their same old powerful, tight, kinda-Queers-inspired (who guitarist Matt has played with before) pop-punk! Their lineup has been a bit fluid, but are a stripped down three piece now with a fine drummer keeping them all locked in solidly for the entire set. Simple but catchy tunes, good vocals, and a streamlined rock'n'roll performance! Good to have these (damn nice) guys back on the scene!
We were unfamiliar with the Bloodtypes before this eve but they quickly won us over with their early punk/new-wave stylings that reminded us a bit of the Epoxies, which was appropriate as we found out later that at least the bassist was a member of the Epoxies previously! We were big fans of the E's and played with them a few times when we had the Excessories, but this female-led combo (not Roxy Epoxy!) is a bit more punky and maybe a bit more angular but still an excellent, tight rock'n'roll band. Dug their presentation with "blood" soaked white clothing, white lights and matching Rickenbackers as the singer bounced around relentlessly, even as she played a bit of keyboards to augment the sound. Really impressed and hope that they come back to Vegas before too long! (And the drummer is a fan of the Gizmos!)
Of course, I've ranted'n'raved about Kepi innumerable times, as I have known him since the mid-80's and his current somewhat goofy (in a good way!), minimalistically catchy pop-punk tunes have garnered him a worldwide audience so he never stops touring (it seems, anyway). His electric combo includes super-nice guy B-Face (ex-Queers, among others) and Adam Bomb (plenty of other bands!) for a (slam) danceable burst of (practically) non-stop energy. He played plenty of his "hits", such as our fave "Beast With 5 Hands", along with a sprinkling of Ramones covers for a fast'n'furious set that included guest appearances from members of the Bloodtypes (on guitar, keys and drums at various times) and, as a surprise to me, even me on guitar for two songs I didn't really know but the number of chords totaled three, so I think I managed! (If anyone has any photos, please share!) You can't go to a Kepi show and leave without a smile on your face and this was a particularly upbeat time - glad that we were able to make it out on a weeknight and thanks to Grey Witch for hosting this great lineup!
(I know I post too many pictures but what the heck - trying to give an idea of the craziness!)
