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

 

I've known Jake, leader/keyboardist for the Bomboras, at least since his days in the Witchdoctors and he has subsequently led the Lords of Altamont, has played in the Sonics and has worked on various other projects throughout the years. Apparently it had been almost 3 decades since the Bomboras played in Vegas, so plenty of folks came out to witness their return!

This night was a Beau Monde presentation so there were plenty of bands, a couple of DJ's and dancing girls galore! Opening the eve was a (I assume) relatively new all-female combo, Lost Cat, a punk-ish band with some good sounds, although some tightening up would go a long way. 

Vegas' own garage rockers, the Shakewells were up next with their excellent brand of high energy garage rock'n'roll. All highly talented musicians, they give a tight backing for singer Danny's vocals and onstage antics. Absolutely one of the better bands in Vegas these bands - great sound, super songs, good presence - all around entertainers! See them any time that you can!

San Diego's Deadbolt has been an institution for decades as the "Scariest Band in the World" with stripped down songs about Tikis, murders and other esoteric subjects. Onstage, they perform silly stunts like breaking boards in two, spraying hairspray on each other (regardless if they still have hair or not, which makes it even funnier than it used to be when they all had pompadours), shooting off sparks with a handsaw and more. Their schtick is to have two bass players, who both play simple baselines, while "leader" Harley adds reverbed, surfy guitar lines on top. Occasional vocals for a few songs - often simply a tagline but sometimes group singing - and anarchic antics abound. I first saw them ages ago and while members have come and gone, Harley and Gary have kept the flame burning and have traveled the world and don't seem ready to stop.

The Bomboras came out of the LA surf/garage scene with Jake's keyboards giving the songs a different sound than many of the other surf combos. Again, there are occasional vocals - such as their theme song where they spelled out their name - and some covers, although they concentrate on their many original instrumentals. There stage show now includes glow in the dark skeleton outfits topped with sombreros (no idea why the headgear, but just go with it) that makes for a great image. Two guitars - both playing lead and rhythm, bass'n'drums back Jake, who manhandles his keyboard across the stage, stands on it and even lights it on fire for the evening's finale! Hopefully, they won't wait 3 more decades before returning to Vegas!

Ralph and Beau Monde always put on some hip spectacles and tonight was no exception! Fun times and a great crowd! Always good to see cool shows at the Dive Bar - big stage, good sound, cheap drinks and good atmosphere! Dig it!