The Velvet Underground (third album)

 

As I'm revisiting my VU recordings while I'm reading an extensive book on the band, it looks like I never talked about this one, oddly enough - unless the search function just isn't working! My faves are the brutal blasts on the first two albums (which showed their softer sides, as well, particularly the debut) but this album, while is certainly their quietest, also has some of their most enduring songs. 

Of course, there are a couple of different theories as to why they changed their sound (even within band members) but I think (just based on being a musician) that Lou simply was writing more quiet songs that he liked - not like he hadn't written similar numbers before!

This opens with an ode to Warhol Superstar Candy Darling, simply titled "Candy Says", sung by newcomer Doug Yule - supposedly Lou's voice was tired from touring. This slight ballad is pretty melodically, but not something that really grabs your attention immediately - at least not for me. On the other hand, "What Goes On" is truly one of their best, an insistently chuggin' rocker with a great, melodic, multi-tracked guitar solo, catchy melody and existential lyrics. Another fave is "Some Kinda Love", driven by Maureen's bass drum'n'cowbell, it dictates a conversation where the two may disagree but basically agree that "no kinds of love are better than others". A simple progression - as Lou is wont to do - but incredibly memorable with terrific lyrics that are immensely quotable. The lovely ballad - as close to a true love song as Lou probably ever did, written for a former girlfriend who had since married, although they had a fling - "Pale Blue Eyes" is another, oft-covered classic. Probably the quietest of the quiet numbers, "Jesus" is an unusual subject for Jewish Lou but is apparently just referring to another type of love and is another lovely melody.

I think it might be a stretch to say that "Beginning to See the Light" is also about religion, but it is another good, mid-tempo rocker with sing-along refrains. "I'm Set Free" is kind of a Phil Spector-ish bit of pop, although not one of the best of the bunch here, nor is "That's the Story of my Life" - again not as memorable as some of the others. The true oddity of the bunch is "The Murder Mystery", with its kinda spooky backing and two (at least) simultaneous narratives going on, in different speeds, with melodic interjections from Maureen and Yule - kind of another experiment like "The Gift", but more jumbled and much less coherent, making it a difficult listen - I think it would actually be quite listenable without the vocals! Then the finale is one of the goofiest numbers they ever recorded, the vaudevillian "After Hours" with Maureen singing - I know this has become a fave with some people, but I always considered it a throwaway.

So, some of their most memorable and most forgettable tunes together in one LP. Flawed, for sure, but obviously worth owning!

Tom Verlaine - Dreamtime

 

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've been reading and listening to a lot of Velvet Underground lately and when I was peering through our vinyl collection to see which VU LP's I still owned, this Verlaine solo album came along for the ride so I thought I'd give it a listen, since I can't remember the last time I heard it.

But before I even dropped the needle down I noticed the line notes with mentioned that the musicians on the record included drummer Ritchie Teeter (known for his work in the Dictators, of course), Fred Smith from Tom's band Television and Jay Dee Daugherty (Patti Smith Group, obviously). Impressive company to keep!

And while none of Tom's solo work has equaled his time in Television (in my personal opinion), this record is certainly one of the better releases of his that I have heard. Marque Moon is among my favorite albums ever and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to match the intensity of the performances or the songwriting, but this collection stands up on its own merits. Nothing as immediately memorable in either the songs or the playing, there are still catchy, patently Tom riffs and tunes that are quite enjoyable and impressive in their own right.

While nothing stands out quite to the extent that some of the best TV tracks do, this is still a fine album and worth giving a listen - I will definitely be pulling it out more and giving it more chances. 

recommended gigs

                     

Thursday 9-10-26 - the New Waves at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-12-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-13-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 9-13-26 - Exploited, Soldiers of Destruction, Suburban Resistance at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Monday 9-14-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 9-16-26 - Trombo's Wheel of Fuckery with special guests the Minges at the DOuble DOwn

Friday 9-18-26 - Evelyn's Casket, Life Rips, Damned by Night, Crimson Riot at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-19-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-21-26 - Thee Swank Bastards l at the Golden Tiki

Thursday 9-24-26 - Shanda and the Howlers, the Starlite Wranglers, Screamin' Rebel Angels, Cherry and the Sours at the Swan Dive

Thursday 9-24-26 - Cromm Fallon and the P200, Superhiro, Honeychain and the Noidz at the Griffin

Saturday 9-26-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-28-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-3-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 10-5-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-10-26 - the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs with the Strains at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-10-26 - Wasted Youth, Shakewells, Soldiers of Destruction at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Friday 10-23-26 - Bomboras, Deadbolt, Shakewells and Lost Cat at the Dive Bar

Tuesday 10-27-26 - Kepi Ghoulie with the Bloodtypes, Jerk! and Femaliens at Grey Witch

Saturday 10-31-26 - Special Halloween Treat at the Double Down with The Evil Ones - a tribute to Roky Erickson with Kevin Wilcox, Ron Hudy, and Melanie and Rich Coffee - along with Thee Implosions and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones! Costume Contest! Prizes! Fun!

Thursday 11-5-26 - Suburban Resistance, Hour 13, 3 Rounds at Red Dwarf

Friday 11-6-26 - the Merry Widows, the Shakewells, the Henchmen, the Limit Club, Vesper Rose and Cherry and the Sours at Grey Witch

Sunday 11-8-26 - the Hideaway, Three Bad Janets, Get In Loser, VaVaoom at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Friday 11-13-26 - Plague Vendor at the Usual Place 

Sunday 11-15-26 - the Buzzcocks and Modern English at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 11-20-26 - the Goddamn Gallows, King Sickabilly and the Riflemen at the Usual Place

Friday 12-18-26 - Thee Implosions at the Punk Rock Museum

The Implosions, Toe Tag, Rhythm Ace and the Nu Tones at Red Dwarf Friday September 4, 2026

Of course I try to see our friends the Implosions whenever I can and with this gig landing on guitarist Dave Post's birthday, I had to make the effort, despite it being quite a week for me for many reasons.

Knowing that the Imps were opening the night, I got to the Red Dwarf early for pizza and drinks and discovered a fairly packed house right from the start, and more people continued to show up as it went along. Plenty of friends'n'fans showed up to support and to wish Dave a happy day, and the band received an enthusiastic response to their rockin' set of Las Vegas-themed garage/punk/what-have-you tunes. They surprised Dave by switching instruments and handing out placards with Dave's face on it, then gave him a party hat and made him sing his own self-penned birthday song! Everyone joined in, and then helped out with their tune about cashing out and rocked appropriately for the closer about playing the ponies! Great start of the night!

SoCal's Toe Tag was new to me (although the Imps have played with them on their home turf before) but was a pleasant r'n'r surprise of hip 70's styled punk'n'roll that kinda reminded me a little of bands like the Humpers as they covered the Dicks, the Pleasure Seekers ("What a Way to Die"), and even Charles Manson! The lead guitarist also plays in the more 60's styled garage combo the Wyld Goons (who have backed up Ray Brandes from the Tell Tale Hearts at times), while the rhythm guitarist was sporting a Voodoo Records t-shirt (and is a fan of the Rev) so they definitely have a variety of influences that combine for their own sound. Really enjoyed them, but somehow managed to not pick up any of their merch - next time!

Vegas' own Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones closed out the night with their wild mix of rockabilly, garage and even weirdness like Suicide peaking out now'n'again. A three piece with guitar, vintage organ (and theremin) along with live drums, they blast out plenty of noise (always a good thing in my book) with cool songs and a healthy dose of uncontrolled mayhem. They have had a few different lineups at different times (the core being the font duo Jeremiah and Lindsay), but this was particularly cool set and a fab ending to the night!

Big thanks to Red Dwarf for hosting yet another hip, happenin' night of good time rock'n'roll!

(And be sure to see the Implosions and Rhythm Ace at the Double Down on Halloween night with our own Roky Erickson tribute band, the Evil Ones!)

The Velvet Underground Live at Max's Kansas City

 

I've been reading a rather lengthy book on the VU so, as I am wont to do, I've been listening to a lot of VU recordings and today I looked to see what I still had on vinyl and this is one that I hadn't heard for a while so I gave it a spin.

The first thing that any fan would notice is that it is definitely not Maureen on drums - they are far, far busier and more traditionally "rock'n'roll" than her usual style. It tuns out that she was pregnant at the time of these shows and was temporarily replaced with newcomer Doug Yule's (who had replaced John Cale on bass and keys) brother Billy. He's a good drummer (he also plays on some of Loaded - Maureen was not available for all of that album, either - which was recorded around the time of these shows) but a very different style, making this more of a rock band than the oddity that was the Velvets.

But, while the feel has changed, it's still a fun r'n'r show. Opening with a definitely more upbeat take on "I'm Waiting For The Man" (they did change this up even with Maureen in the lineup, but very noticeable here), they run through a fine version of "Sweet Jane", "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" (never one of my faves) and a chuggin' "Beginning to See the Light".

Side two gets a bit quieter and more introspective (apparently, there was a decision to have one side more rockin' and one side the softer "pop" sounds) with takes on "I'll Be Your Mirror", the then-new "Pale Blue Eyes", "Sunday Morning", the powerful "New Age", "Femme Fatale" and the hokey (but one that lou was fond of), "After Hours", which he dedicates to Maureen, who he claims sings it better than he does, but he enjoys it. So, an obvious choice to combine old'n'new tunes.

Although recorded on a mono cassette player, the sound is surprisingly good (despite some on the internet who say otherwise) and while only half the band, it is still a cool artifact of a great show at the end of the group's career. 

(Funnily, I just noticed that I had reviewed this record 13 years ago! I normally check those things! Ah well, I haven't read the old one but maybe I have some new "insights"! )

recommended gigs

                    

Friday 9-4-26 - Thee Implosions with Thee Toe Tags and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at Red Dwarf

Friday 9-4-26 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-5-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-6-26 - Screeching Weasel, Dickies, Queers, Jack Trippers at House of Blues LV

Monday 9-7-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-12-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-13-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 9-13-26 - Exploited, Soldiers of Destruction, Suburban Resistance at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Monday 9-14-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 9-16-26 - Trombo's Wheel of Fuckery with special guests the Minges at the DOuble DOwn

Friday 9-18-26 - Evelyn's Casket, Life Rips, Damned by Night, Crimson Riot at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-19-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-21-26 - Thee Swank Bastards l at the Golden Tiki

Thursday 9-24-26 - Shanda and the Howlers, the Starlite Wranglers, Screamin' Rebel Angels, Cherry and the Sours at the Swan Dive

Thursday 9-24-26 - Cromm Fallon and the P200, Superhiro, Honeychain and the Noidz at the Griffin

Saturday 9-26-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-28-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-3-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 10-5-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-10-26 - the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs with the Strains at Red Dwarf

Saturday 10-10-26 - Wasted Youth, Shakewells, Soldiers of Destruction at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Friday 10-23-26 - Bomboras, Deadbolt, Shakewells and Lost Cat at the Dive Bar

Tuesday 10-27-26 - Kepi Ghoulie with the Bloodtypes, Jerk! and Femaliens at Grey Witch

Saturday 10-31-26 - Special Halloween Treat at the Double Down with The Evil Ones - a tribute to Roky Erickson with Kevin Wilcox, Ron Hudy, and Melanie and Rich Coffee - along with Thee Implosions and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones! Costume Contest! Prizes! Fun!

Thursday 11-5-26 - Suburban Resistance, Hour 13, 3 Rounds at Red Dwarf

Friday 11-6-26 - the Merry Widows, the Shakewells, the Henchmen, the Limit Club, Vesper Rose and Cherry and the Sours at Grey Witch

Sunday 11-8-26 - the Hideaway, Three Bad Janets, Get In Loser, VaVaoom at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Friday 11-13-26 - Plague Vendor at the Usual Place 

Sunday 11-15-26 - the Buzzcocks and Modern English at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 11-20-26 - the Goddamn Gallows, King Sickabilly and the Riflemen at the Usual Place

Friday 12-18-26 - Thee Implosions at the Punk Rock Museum

The Woggles - Stop and Take a Minute

 I grabbed this one as a random choice as I wanted to get something from the band after their fab set at the Usual Place and they were fairly slammed at the merch table and this seemed to be what they were promoting so I didn't really look it, I just tossed them some cash and thanked them for a fun show.

Turns out that it's a "B-Sides and Rarities" compilation with tons of guest appearances from the likes of Keith Streng, Steven Van Zandt, Peter Greenberg and Graham Day (who the internet says is now in the band, although I'm sure it was not him playing with them here in Vegas, so I dunno) and others. Apparently, they have made a few friends since they started way back in 1987!

To me, it kinda sounds like they patterned themselves after the Fleshtones brand of garage-rock'n'soul, but with their own take on it, naturally. On this release, they tend to keep things upbeat'n'rockin' with plenty of 60's sounds, but not aggressively retro - even if there are a few steals here'n'there (like we all do). The band is tight, the vocals - lead and backing - are strong and it all rocks!

Groovy stuff throughout! Oddly, I don't seem to have any of their other releases so not sure how to compare this to anything else that they have put out, but I would say that this would be a good place to start - or a good addition to your collection!

Common Grounds Volume One

 

Writer Troy Hickman along with various artists have created a world where both superheroes and villains have a safe haven where there is no fighting allowed (we do not see the bouncers, but they are apparently impressive enough to enforce this decree) and so both sides can relax with coffee (hence the common grounds, of course) and donuts.

This leads to both sides relating to each other in ways that would otherwise be impossible. Also, "norms" can interact with the supers without fear, so there are media interviews held here, as well as simple conversations between supes and norms. 

The writing is particularly good here, in my opinion, giving a new twist to the genre while remaining entertaining and reasonably light-hearted, overall.

The concept grabbed me from the start and the comic lived up to it. Hope to see more of these!

RIP David Fair

David Fair of Half Japanese Has Died 

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I was a big fan of Half Japanese in the 80's. I haven't been following them lately but sad to hear this.

recommended gigs

                   

Friday 8-28-26 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-29-26  - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 8-30-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 8-30-26 - Fea, Ratos and Zelo, the Minges, the Negative Nancys at the Griffin

Monday 8-31-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Tuesday 9-1-26 - Wayne Hancock with Paige and the Overtones at the Bizarre Bar

Friday 9-4-26 - Thee Implosions with Thee Toe Tags and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at Red Dwarf

Friday 9-4-26 - the New Waves at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-5-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-6-26 - Screeching Weasel, Dickies, Queers, Jack Trippers at House of Blues LV

Monday 9-7-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-12-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-13-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 9-13-26 - Exploited, Soldiers of Destruction, Suburban Resistance at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Monday 9-14-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-18-26 - Evelyn's Casket, Life Rips, Damned by Night, Crimson Riot at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-19-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-21-26 - Thee Swank Bastards l at the Golden Tiki

Thursday 9-24-26 - Shanda and the Howlers, the Starlite Wranglers, Screamin' Rebel Angels, Cherry and the Sours at the Swan Dive

Saturday 9-26-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-28-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-3-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 10-5-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-10-26 - the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs with the Strains at Red Dwarf

Friday 10-23-26 - Bomboras, Deadbolt, Shakewells and Lost Cat at the Dive Bar

Tuesday 10-27-26 - Kepi Ghoulie with the Bloodtypes, Jerk! and Femaliens at Grey Witch

Saturday 10-31-26 - Special Halloween Treat at the Double Down with The Evil Ones - a tribute to Roky Erickson with Kevin Wilcox, Ron Hudy, and Melanie and Rich Coffee - along with Thee Implosions and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones! Costume Contest! Prizes! Fun!

Thursday 11-5-26 - Suburban Resistance, Hour 13, 3 Rounds at Red Dwarf

Friday 11-6-26 - the Merry Widows, the Shakewells, the Henchmen, the Limit Club, Vesper Rose and Cherry and the Sours at Grey Witch

Sunday 11-8-26 - the Hideaway, Three Bad Janets, Get In Loser, VaVaoom at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Friday 11-13-26 - Plague Vendor at the Usual Place 

Sunday 11-15-26 - the Buzzcocks and Modern English at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 11-20-26 - the Goddamn Gallows, King Sickabilly and the Riflemen at the Usual Place

Friday 12-18-26 - Thee Implosions at the Punk Rock Museum

RIP Tim Curry

‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ Star Tim Curry Dies at 80 Inside His Los Angeles Home 

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I know that he wasn't well, but damn....

RIP Dolly

Dolly Parton, Country Music Legend, Dies at 80, Just 4 Days After Saying, ‘I Still Have so Many Things I Want to Achieve’ 

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This is so doubly sad as she was such a good person as well as a talent. 

Water Landing at Red Dwarf, Saturday 8-22-26

 

Seeing that we have missed the last one or two Water Landing reunion shows and the fact that this one was starting early, we knew that we had to make it out to see them.

Of course, I am now working with no less than 3 of the 4 members of WL in Mr. Dark's Pandemonium, and I have known these cats since they first started playing out as WL (Ron think that they may have played their debut gig with the Swamp Gospel!). They are goofy fun with a bit of aeronautical humor in their lyrics, a bit of garage/punk rockiness and some proper harmonies from drummer Ron and stewardess/keyboardist (when the batteries haven't run out!), Jules. 

I confess that I haven't listened to their records for a while now, but their opening number was their theme song, "Water Landing", they certainly played their "hit", "Devils" (also performed by Mr. Dark) and for the finale, Ron took the lead vocals for a passionate "Rockin' in the Free World".

We had a busy weekend and were a bit beat, so we split after a couple drinks, some pizza and the WL set so I cannot comment on the touring combo, the Let Me Downs - hope the rest of the night went well as WL got a great response from the friends'n'fans in the crowd. Fun times!

recommended gigs

                  

Saturday 8-22-26 - the return of Water Landing with the Let Me Downs at Red Dwarf

Saturday 8-22-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 8-24-26  - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Wednesday 8-26-26 - IV and the Strange Band at the Bizarre Bar

Friday 8-28-26 - Shanda and the Howlers at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 8-29-26  - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 8-30-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 8-30-26 - Fea, Ratos and Zelo, the Minges, the Negative Nancys at the Griffin

Monday 8-31-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-4-26 - Thee Implosions with Thee Toe Tags and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-5-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-6-26 - Screeching Weasel, Dickies, Queers, Jack Trippers at House of Blues LV

Monday 9-7-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 9-12-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Sunday 9-13-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at Red Dwarf's Sunday Brunch

Sunday 9-13-26 - Exploited, Soldiers of Destruction, Suburban Resistance at Backstage Bar and Billiards

Monday 9-14-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Friday 9-18-26 - Evelyn's Casket, Life Rips, Damned by Night, Crimson Riot at Red Dwarf

Saturday 9-19-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-21-26 - Thee Swank Bastards l at the Golden Tiki

Thursday 9-24-26 - Shanda and the Howlers, the Starlite Wranglers, Screamin' Rebel Angels, Cherry and the Sours at the Swan Dive

Saturday 9-26-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 9-28-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-3-26 - Thee Swank Bastards late night at the Golden Tiki

Monday 10-5-26 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Golden Tiki

Saturday 10-10-26 - the Streetwalkin' Cheetahs with the Strains at Red Dwarf

Friday 10-23-26 - Bomboras, Deadbolt, Shakewells and Lost Cat at the Dive Bar

Tuesday 10-27-26 - Kepi Ghoulie with the Bloodtypes, Jerk! and Femaliens at Grey Witch

Saturday 10-31-26 - Special Halloween Treat at the Double Down with The Evil Ones - a tribute to Roky Erickson with Kevin Wilcox, Ron Hudy, and Melanie and Rich Coffee - along with Thee Implosions and Rhythm Ace and the Nu-Tones! Costume Contest! Prizes! Fun!

Friday 11-6-26 - the Merry Widows, the Shakewells, the Henchmen, the Limit Club, Vesper Rose and Cherry and the Sours at Grey Witch

Friday 11-13-26 - Plague Vendor at the Usual Place 

Sunday 11-15-26 - the Buzzcocks and Modern English at Brooklyn Bowl

Friday 11-20-26 - the Goddamn Gallows, King Sickabilly and the Riflemen at the Usual Place

Friday 12-18-26 - Thee Implosions at the Punk Rock Museum

The Bum Raps and the Dirty Water Choir at Sombrero Bohemia 8-13-26 and the Unwieldies at Salt Road Brewery 8-16-26 (Fort Collins)

 

I was in serious need of a break so we picked a weekend that we didn't have anything pressing, contacted our friends Rob'n'Dani and they were good enough to put us up in Ft Collins for a long weekend despite the fact that they already had two gigs planned! Good friends are hard to come by!

Since moving to Ft Collins, this productive couple has been hosting monthly shows (outside of the winter months) in their spacious backyard, dubbing it Sombrero Bohemia. These are always well attended and while their own projects will play, they also host local and touring combos. We miss this energy in Las Vegas!

We got to their place just in time to watch Rob set up the scene, grab a quick bite and watch one of the first shows for his new band with guitarist Eric Straumanis, the Bum Raps. In this configuration they are (mostly? I didn't take notes, so don't remember everything) playing obscure songs from the Psyatics, interpreted in a new, fun way. Eric is a terrific guitarist who adds his own sound'n'licks to the tunes, giving them a fresh feel. I'm a big fan of pretty much everything that Rob has done, but even so, this was extremely cool! They are looking for a percussionist so it will be interesting to see where this leads, but it was a great beginning!

Also on the bill was the Dirty Water Choir, a New Orleans-styled combo with floating membership, led by on DW (hence the "dirty water", I assume) on guitar and vocals, backed by a lead guitarist, banjo, standup bassist and two gents playing various horns. A bit reminiscent of Soda and his Million Piece Band, along with the NO influences and, of course, their own touches. Even with a bit of rain that turned torrential for a while (apparently every show here has at least a chance of rain), most of the audience hung in for the sounds and continued to dance the night away. Super fun night despite the weather! At least it was still nicely warm!

On the Sunday, the Unwieldies (featuring both Rob'n'Dani, natch) were scheduled to play Salt Road Brewing (one of many local breweries in the area) and their new-ish violinist couldn't make it so they asked the Bum Raps' Eric along with myself to sit in on a few songs, while they did the rest on their own. They pulled out songs that they hadn't played for a while from their various albums, along with a number of cover tunes. 

I got to sit in on acoustic slide guitar on a couple of songs that Rob'n'I played together in the Gentlemen of Four Outs, as well as a couple of covers ("Everybody Knows" and "More Than This") along with two of my favorite Un's numbers, "Grim Hymns" and "Strange New Weakness". Eric did an incredible job with literally no rehearsals on several originals, a country-fied "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Dance Me Til the End of Time" and we both jammed on their unique version of "The Thrill is Gone".

It was a super relaxed atmosphere with plenty of jokes'n'banter'n'stories, some great originals and other covers from "Billie Jean" to a super powerful "Which Side Are You On" - though, of course, Ft Collins is pretty darn liberal, so I'm sure most everyone there were on the correct side!

No joke, I was honored to get to play with my talented friends and meet some more of their pals and it was terrific to get a feel for FoCo! If you are ever in the area, look up these combos for some great music!