The Implosions, Bad Motivator and King Flamingo at Red Dwarf, Saturday Oct 25, 2025

 

Of course, I've ranted'n'raved about our pals, the Implosions, numerous times before and we haven't made it out for too much lately (including missing the Tarentino Tribute the night before) but we rallied and headed across town for this evening's fun.

We got there a bit late due to the ridiculous amount of construction going on everywhere in Las Vegas but especially on Charleston and the entire length of Maryland Parkway, so we only caught part of King Flamingo's set. Normally a guitar/drum duo, the drummer didn't make it for some reason that we missed but the guitarist persevered by playing a bass drum for the downbeat and filled out the sound with a looper (used to great effect - much harder than it looks!) and some cool fuzz. Definitely influenced by the likes of the Cramps, early blues, noise and whatever else, he was also charismatic and engaged the audience in conversation while changing a broken guitar string or deciding what song to do next. Did a Crampsian take on Strychnine for the Halloween season and overall was plenty of fun. I would certainly check him out again if he comes back to town, and he got a good response, so ya never know!

Bad Motivator is an LA punk'n'roll combo with keys - certainly giving them a slightly different sound - but still firmly based in garage and punk. Nattily dressed in all black, they gave off a bit of a Hives vibe (to me anyway) with short, upbeat songs and a strong rhythm section. They cultivated a dark-ish image with at least a couple of songs with "dead" in the title, along with a cover of the Fuzztones' "She's Wicked"! 

Our favorite local co-ed garage/punk combo is certainly the Implosions, with their Las Vegas-themed songs and a variety of sounds, from fast-driving garage to moody, Crampsian sounds. Also dressed all in black this eve, they always put on a fun show with a rockin' backing for the antics of singer Adrienne. Always a good time and always recommended!

We're still not getting out quite as often as we might care to, but glad we made it out this night for a fun, varied show! Thanks Red Dwarf for this array of r'n'r!