Ha ha ha ha Don't worry, I'm coming back... maybe! ;-)
Still no Internet, still updating from my phone. Oh well. Congrats to Deadhand, The Quitters, and Holding On To Sound for making the trek out to Tejas to play the SXSW schmooze fest. It's cool that Local bands make the commitment to get out there and play. Wish I was in a band that could do that... hint hint
Kick ass gig tomorrow at the Bunkhouse. You should go, because I'm not. Plus, Larry is moving to L.A. in a few weeks, so this is one of the last gigs for Life's Torment and all the other bands he plays in for awhile. Vegas is losing a cool guy with this one, but I'm happy for him moving to L.A. and doing whatever it is he's gonna be doing out there, like putting out records and playing in bands and all that fun stuff. Lucky bastard. Guilty By Association and Unfair Fight are also playing. Support
Today's the day. San Francisco here I come. See you all when I get back. Cheers! :-)
 Oh...
My...
Fucking...
GAWD!!!
How incredibly amazing was Melt Banana last night? Seriously? Pretty fucking Epic and if you missed this one just go shoot yourself in the face now.
YOU FUCKING BLEW IT BIG TIME BUDDY!!!
Melt Banana were monumental, and they brought everybody and their Mom out of the woodwork to see this Legendary band from Tokyo perform. Old Punk Rock Legends, Ex-Scenesters, Cool Guys, Dirty Punx, Crusties, tons of Dooshbag Hipsters, Metal Dudes, Stoners, Freaks, Drunks, Foreigners and representatives from every cool band in town came out to watch the band perform. Watching the singer Yako just work the salivating, packed beyond belief Bunkhouse Saloon crowd into a frenzy just by waving her hands was soooooooooo fucking amazing. She sounded incredible, as did the rest of the band. They played my favorite song Mind Thief. I was happy. ;-) I was also happy when they did this melody/barrage of some of their short songs all played back to back, with Yako saying 'Thank You!' in her uber-cute voice in between each and every one of them. I missed the first 2, but caught the last 4. ;-)
Yeah, Melt Banana were the shit. You can check out the Pictures I took by clicking here. Life's Torment were really good as well, commandeering a big chunk of the early attendees into become fans of theirs by putting on an intense, in your face display of manic Punk Rock anger that had me grinning from ear to ear. And as for 400 Blows, well, the less said the better. I'm just gonna say that they're aptly named and leave it at that... heh heh. This shit was Epic man, and if you missed it, fuck, I don't even know what to say. Better Luck next time perhaps?? ;-)
It's Monday. Sad, Sad Monday. :-/ I'm still beaming over how great the Mapes were on Saturday night. Maybe it was my highly intoxicated state of being, or maybe it was because the guys in the band weren't as drunk as they usually are when they play, but damn did those guys sound good. Watching them play in front of an All Ages crowd was the best thing ever! There were a bunch of kids like 5 years old or younger that were loving the costumes the band were wearing, but they hated that it was so LOUD to them! The kids danced around anyways while the band played, and the Mapes called them pussies for doing so. Brilliant. :-) They played pretty much everything I wanted to hear, except for Your Pussy Makes Me Vomit. Bastards. The band opened up with a Civic Minded 5 cover, and I almost walked away in disgust (just kidding) but right after that cover they played Get Let and all was right in the world. They were soooooo good. The Mapes even played a few new songs, including a song that I think was called Delicious (D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! Delicious!) which just gives me hope that the next Mapes release, which should be out by the year 2036, will be just as brilliant as their first self titled release is. Hopefully they get around to recording those songs that didn't make the album too, like Reptilicus, Ding-Dong and Pigs In A Blanket. Oh, and that Mummies cover would be nice too... hint hint. :-)Speaking of releases, I bought a bunch of new releases from Panic Inc. when I was at the Arts Factory for the gig, including the new Sheep On A Cliff release, as well as stuff from Die Laughing, Life's Torment, Lethal Injection, Godstomper and Hot Fuck Action To The Maxxx. The beauty of it all is that they are all on cassette tape. Total Old School Baby! As if Larry couldn't get any cooler than he already is, he releases stuff on CD as well as cassette, and that, among other reasons, is why you should support his label Panic Inc. and everything they release. Everything. Larry's band Sheep On A Cliff played as well on Saturday night, completely shredding up the small wooden stage they were playing on, and playing some of the most broooooootaaaaal face melting Punk Rock imaginable. It was like Dirt crossed with Infest. If only Emma's drum set was in tune, then it would of been fantastic! LOL Sheep On A Cliff raged and rocked and rampaged and the mixed crowd of Punx, Parents and Patrons of the Arts ate it all up. Fun gig @ the Arts Factory. I hope they keep doing them there. Good turnout too. I ended Saturday night drinking at the Goth club going on inside Artifice, hanging out with 3/4's of the Civilians, chatting with Her all night long and watching the Kids dance in the green laser beams in the room across from the bar. Watching Goth Girls dance is one of the best things ever. :-) Cool way to end the night. I had a sick Skater Bob passed out in the back of my car, puking all over the place and claiming he had food poisoning but I suspect it was a semen overdose. If you look closely I swear you can see some undigested cock meat.
Now THAT'S what I call Art! :-)
_I went out there periodically to check on him, to make sure he didn't pull a Bon Scott on me, and after making him wait for me while I got my grub on at Felipilito's, I dropped him off just as the sun was coming up, which, as you know, is the magical time when Night turns to Day, and when one's thoughts are at their most coherent and lucid. Take advantage if you're ever there - I always do. OK, I gotta get back to Call Of Duty: MW3, because it's been like 10 minutes since I've played in and I'm jonesing bad! LOL Sorry to Demon Lung for not making their gig with High On Fire - same apology to the Civilians who I was going to watch before going to the Demon Lung / High On Fire gig! heh heh Thank you to Jeff from The Bitters for the CD's - very much appreciated. Thanks to Her for always keeping things interesting. <3 Thanks to the random guy from Russia who contacted me for the Interview about the viability of the Las Vegas Punk Rock Music Scene - I'm pretty positive I will never see it or hear it, but damn was it fun! hahahaha And it hurts to say this but Thank You to the Denver Broncos for beating the Kansas City Chiefs yesterday, leaving the Oakland Raiders in sole possession of 1st place in the AFC West. People, Life is Good!!! :-) New Pictures added, everything's updated, yada yada yada. She's waiting for me, but I'm a long, long way from Home. :-)
Happy Groundhog's Day! To commemorate this momentous occasion of Punxsutawney Phil NOT seeing his shadow, I would like to start out with a poem, brought to you courtesy of a tee shirt being worn by Paris Hilton, of all people... heh heh heh
Never fall in Love with an Evil woman.
You will give her your Heart and she will never return it.
And for the rest of your Life you will be incurable,
A lost Romantic unable to ever fall in Love again.
I don't know why that struck such a chord with me, but it did. I'm going to go listen to Valerie Loves Me by Material Issue on repeat now... hahaha NOT! Just thought it was a cool poem. Where was this good advice when I needed it? LOLHey! Today is HANK!'s Birthday! Many happy returns to you today Sir! He's still the creepiest guy I've ever met, and I love his white trash ass to Death! To say that Hank is just awesome is like saying that masturbating behind a bus stop is just awesome, or like saying that counting change in the dark in a hotel room full of your friends is just awesome, or like saying that growing up in a tool shed is just awesome. hahahahaha If you haven't already, go to Hank's Facebook page by clicking here and wish him a Happy Birthday. Come on - He'd do the same for you... heh heh heh If you're feeling brave you can go punch him in the nuts at the Huntridge Tavern tonight - that's where one of his many, I'm sure, Birthday parties is happening at.The second Birthday party that I know of for Hank is happening this Sunday @ the Hotel Amoroso. It's a Hawaiian themed shindig, which means that Hank will be getting porked in the backyard, and where he will be getting lei'd in the front room if he's lucky. ;-) It's also MY Birthday party as well, so stop by if you know where it's at or ask someone to let you in on it. Oh yeah, the Super Bowl will be going on in the background, so that just means that it's gonna be an extra crazy rager. See ya there, although I probably won't remember it. :-) Everything is updated. Monster Zero is playing with the Phantom Rockers @ the LVCS tomorrow, the Reverend Horton Heat is @ the HOB on Friday, TheCore and Save Amos are @ the Cheyenne Saloon on Saturday, and Life's Torment and S.M.D. are playing @ Yayo Taco that night as well, and Unfair Fight is @ the Box Office. It's gonna be a fun weekend. :-)
Long story short - I'm out! Yaaaaaaayy!
Tonight! Go and see the Batusis, featuring Sylvain Sylvain and Cheetah Chrome, playing tonight @ Roxie's 1st Annual Bitchin' Halloween party. Local support is being provided by 1/2 Ast and the Vermin. It's $7 to get in, but absolutely Free if you come dressed up in Mad Max attire, which is the theme for this years party. It sounds like it's going to be a great time. If I had a car I would soooooooooo be there.
Don't forget about the Resistant Culture gig happening @ Yayo Taco tonight as well. Local support is coming from Life's Torment, Blatant, and Eyesore, a new band featuring Senor Adrian, who is an Airbag veterano and ex Third World War roadie. ;-) I think it's their debut performance, but I'm not sure. Every crusty, wanna-be squatter fuck rich kid slumming in Las Vegas will be in attendance tonight, and I'm sure the smell inside the place will be almost as bad as it was at that Star Fucking Hipsters gig a while back. Bring a clothes pin for your nose and you'll be fine. Avoid the inevitable Drama at all costs. :-)
Lots of stuff going on this weekend, maybe a bit too much, but it's all up on the Gig Calendar page. Plan accordingly. I'm off to celebrate my freedom by watching the sun rise from outside of the CCDC, something I didn't think I'd be doing 24 hours ago.
Check this out - It's for a documentary on the life of Lemmy from
Motörhead, which, of course, is sorely overdue and much needed in musical times like these. Ain't nobody playing in a band right now that's gonna be respected and revered in 30 years like Lemmy is now. Nope. You hear that, Bono? You hear that Jack White? You hear that every other pretentious douchebag playing in your Screamo - Metal Alternative ghey ass bands? Yeah, fuck the whole lot of you. The question that comes to mind after watching this trailer is this: Is it me, or does the trailer suck?Or does the movie suck? Or is it both?
Yeah, I thought so too. So yeah, what's going on? First Friday was ghey as usual, but with the added presence of a bunch of Bikers and Tattoo people in town for their separate conventions / meth runs, things were definitely interesting around the City this weekend. And oh yeah, there was that Record Label thing happening at a casino somewhere too, but I could care less about that. It was streamed for free on Myspace, where I watched it free of the feeling of pretentiousness and snobbery and without the least bit of the feeling of "trying to be different waaaaay too hard" infiltrating my psyche. It all sucked anyways. Everything I heard just bored me to tears, and I couldn't but fail to see what the big fuss about those bands and that event was all about. I listened to it while looking at my new favorite website, Look At This Fucking Hipster, a website full of different pictures of people that I assumed were wandering around the concert hall trying to out cool each other and be more eccentric than anyone else. Lame. After practice on Friday I took N.J. Pete's advice and headed downtown with Jeremy where we went to the Brass Lounge to shake our tushy's with everyone else at this 80's dance party thing. Well, I shook my tushy, and Pete and Jeremy just drank, because they're manly men like that. The bass player from the Killers was the guest DJ, and watching him try to work the iPad thing they were using to play music was laughable, and his crappy set was just boring everyone in the place to tears and having them heading towards the door, showing that he has no musical taste as well as no musical talent whatsoever. Phooey. Watching The Serving Tray get picked up by the bad guy from Die Hard was fun for a bit, but then it got boring, so Jeremy and I headed off to some bars along the way home, which set the precedent that I would continue to follow all weekend, which was basically just me hitting up as many shitty dive bars as I could find, looking to either get blind drunk or thrown in jail or if I'm lucky, maybe both. Didn't happen, but it was fun trying.
It was in my dive bar hopping pursuit and search for Nevada City Tire on Saturday that I ended up at the Red Label Lounge, where I caught DJ Buckshot, aka Dean, on the 1's and the 2's, and by "1's and 2's", I mean his left and right butt cheeks, both of which were firmly planted on a stool at the bar, getting drunk and hanging out with pals. Apparently, anyone can be a DJ nowadays. ;-) While there I ran into Larry from Panic Inc., a man who musically must be part Jamaican, because he's in like 3 bands all at once, and he gave me the latest releases from his label by Die Laughing, Sheep On A Cliff, and Life's Torment, all of which, is just some amazingly sick shit. Just raw, fast, angry, brutal, truly old school punk rock that just makes me wish I still did Music Reviews just so I could heap loads and loads of praises on all 3 of the CD's that I got, because they're all really that good. Check out Panic Inc. on Myspace by clicking here, and check out Die Laughing's Myspace page by clicking here, and check out Life's Torment Myspace page by clicking here, and last but not least, check out Sheep On A Cliff by clicking here to go to their Myspace page. 3 good bands worthy of supporting, regardless if they're Locals or not. You should befriend them all, if you haven't already. And make sure to support Panic Inc. too. They're a real label that actually gets things done, as opposed to all the other Punk "labels" around town... fucking douche bags.
Is it Hockey season yet, because I think I got better things to do than watch my beloved Raiders just go out of their way in finding ways to beat themselves each and every time. We should not of lost to the Cardinals, and we should not of lost to the Texans, plain and simple. And with injuries just killing us left and right, I think it's a pretty sure bet that the Chargers are going to anally rape us next Sunday, no doubt about it. Anyone wanna jam that day? LOL
Happy Birthday to Spaz from Monster Zero. He turns approximately 2300 years old today, which is pretty good for a creature such as him. He doesn't look a day over 1750, tops.
Anyways, there's tons of gigs happening this week, like that Nails gig @ Yayo Taco on Thursday, and, of course, the Punk Rock weekend thing happening @ Area 702. I think a certain shitty band is no longer playing that gig, so I'll probably be there. Plus I think I'm supposed to go to a certain special wedding this week too. I'll have to look into that and see exactly when it is. I hope some Cure songs will be sung... heh heh heh. Everything's updated. See you around!
I'm sitting in the turn lane at Desert Inn and Paradise when my car just goes dead. No warning lights, no rough running, just instant Death. Phooey. Thankfully my band mate Jeremy rescued me and helped me get my car towed to the rehearsal studio, where it sits awaiting to be taken to a garage and get repaired. The fuel pump went out. Apparently it happens. All of these shenanigans kept me from making it to the 400 Blows gig on time @ the LVCS on Friday, but I walked in just as 400 Blows was finishing up their set to a crowd of about 20 people in the place who could give a flying fuck less at the noise blaring from the stage area. 400 Blows was dying a slow death on stage, and I found myself strangely attracted to watching them do it. The band on stage looked like a bunch of dour L.A. douche bags all dressed in black, with the Singer looking like Brendan Flowers from the Killers if he decided to dress up like a cop. The guitar player looked like he should be playing for Venom and the drummer looked like Stewart Copeland and was just as good a player as he is. The drummer made watching 400 Blows bearable. The dude was just fanfuckingtastic. There was no bass player, but I think the guitarist was making bass noises on his guitar and sending them through to a bass cabinet that was set up directly behind the drummer, resulting in a huge clusterfuck of sound that just wasn't working for me. There was no one watching the band play but me and like 3 other dudes - they seemed to be enjoying it, though, so what do I know. The drummer and guitarist would lock into a groove that would make Jesus Lizard jealous, and then it would get ruined by the Singer's pretentious lyrics and ham handed stage posturing. Phooey. 400 Blows was a huge disappointment, not matching up in any way, shape or form to the band I enjoyed on the Black Rainbow and the Angels Trumpets And Devil's Trombones releases. Maybe I caught a bad gig? Hope so.
I thought the gig was over after 400 Blows, but apparently, the Black Jetts flaked out on playing, perhaps scared of the awesome rock infused power that Pigasus generates, and so all bands played early, and the Tinglerz were left to play clean up to a crowd that was more interested in watching girls ride the mechanical bull than by anything the Tinglerz were playing, which was a shame. They missed out on a guitar laden, energy filled, adrenaline infused set of Rock N Roll that was just vicious to watch. Kei is the guitar overlord Master of his instrument, cranking out thick, crunchy riffs that were perfectly complimented by a bass player that was conjuring up images of Mike Dirnt in both playing and performing. The drummer was young and not a very hard hitter, and even with his drum kit mic'd up, I could barely hear him, and I was standing right against the barriers in front of the stage! LOL It didn't matter one bit, because the Tinglerz played a killer set that had me wondering out loud why more people are not into this band. Was Joe Perv's association with the Tinglerz that bad of a thing? Apparently so. Kei has a lot of work to do if he hopes to over come that tremendous mistake in his musical career. Funny, you think he would of learned his lesson the first time around, when Kei was an original member of the Pervz. Oh well. The highlight of the evening was listening to Jeremy and his friends Brad and Glenn doing this round robin exercise with telling the story of how they got involved with a drunken bar brawl at Hennessey's Tavern downstairs from the LVCS during the Darby O'Gill And The Little People gig, where they skipped out on a bar tab that was well over $100. It would start out with one of them saying, 'And then, a Ninja popped up, and started throwing ninja stars around', and then the next one would say something like 'Yeah, and then I caught one of the ninja stars with my teeth, and I threw it at the waitress, killing her instantly', and then without missing the beat the next one would say, 'And that's why we couldn't pay our bar tab'... hahaha It was funny listening to the camaraderie going on between the 3. Having Friends to fuck around with like that is just the best, and it was a good way to end what could of been a really shitty night.
The rest of the weekend was all about Xbox and Football. Looks like Jesse was right in saying that we needed to get the Pollack in as quarterback, because as soon as the Raiders put Gradkowski in, we actually started looking like a good football team! LOL Granted, it was only against the Lambs, but still, in the NFL, a win is a win, so we'll take it. Next weeks game against Arizona will be interesting, to say the least. Does Gradkowski start? Is the Campbell era over? We will see.
There's a gig with Life's Torment @ the Divebar happening tonight, for those of you who don't care about tonight's Monday Night Football match-up between New Orleans and San Francisco. The Queers are playing @ the Divebar in November. It will take me at least that long to work up the nerve to drag my ass down there... heh heh heh
 Yeah Yeah... it's at the Divebar... I know, I know... There's a house party happening on Wednesday with The State Streets, Away We Go and Start, 2 bands I know nothing about. The State Streets are a Local band creating quite a buzz with their English working class Oi! musical styling. Keep an eye out for these guys (and one girl) and check them out when you can. You can check out the band's Myspace page by clicking here. Everything's updated. Nothing new has been added, but soon will be. I have 2 out of 4 KISS cups from 7-11, so if you see a Peter or an Ace cup, please let me know where, and I'll swoop them up with the quickness. I don't know what it's all about, I assume it's some sort of tie in with Dr. Pepper, but I love those KISS cups from 7-11. Yeah, I know. Ghey. ;-)
'Hey! You look pretty good for a guy who was born in the 60's'... hahahahahaha This would of been the best compliment ever if it didn't come from the doorman @ the Beauty Bar after checking my ID. LOL Yeah, it was that kind of a weekend, a lucky weekend, where the dice kept hitting 7's every time I threw them and my cup of Alcohol never seemed to get empty. If you stayed at home, you missed out. I'm not even gonna get into some of the more outlandish bullshit excuses I heard from people on why they weren't attending. Your Loss. Friday night the Rip Offs DESTROYED the LVCS, with a set so full of Punk Rock goodness that the Promoter threatened to pull the plug on the gig like, at least 5 times, on account of the Hatred and Abuse being thrown at the band in various ways, shapes and forms, from alcohol being spit directly on the band from the people in front against the barriers, to people just spitting mouthfuls of snot on them from every direction imaginable, and there were people throwing handfuls of change at the stage just hoping to hit something or someone, anyone, and, of course, full glass beer bottles being thrown with sniper like accuracy. Same with tall boy PBR's and plastic water bottles. There were more than a few Justin Bieber moments during the set! hahaha Gawd damn if I tell you I haven't seen anything like that since the good ol' days of Punk Rock back in the 80's. It very well could of been the Germs up on the LVCS stage, that's how Epic this gig was, and the fact that some people stayed away and didn't attend due to, ahem, various bullshit reasons, well, that just makes me laugh. You missed out on a good one. Oh man did you ever. This video footage, taken by a man who is just as Smart as he is Handsome, Joe 1/2 Ast, gives you an idea of just how majestic this gig was. It was like being @ the Wet Stop again! hahahahaha
Yeah, it was that kind of night. The Zeros did an AMAZING job of following up on the mayhem and Chaos that the Rip Offs had created by counteracting it all with some fucking Glorious pop songs that put a lot of the stuff that the Ramones did to shame. Musical Bliss and Heaven, it was. I bought a record and lost it somewhere. You're welcome to whoever found it, ya bastards!
Saturday found me waking up, baking up, showering up, grubbing up and drinking up @ the Beauty Bar for Round 2 of the Shake Down. Friday night it was all about Guinness and Patron, Saturday night it was about Jameson's and pharmaceuticals by the handful. It seemed like a good idea at the time, and in the end I'm glad I did because although the Dragons were Godhead, the Humpers were Godslayers, and my body bore much of the brunt of the battle, as I was front and center on the front line of the War between Band and Audience. "Gilbert, it is time to destroy the Beauty Bar", Jesse Jerk told me, and I could think of no better band to destroy this place to than the Humpers. The Perfect Soundtrack For Chaos and Destruction. They fucking KILLED IT! They laid waste to the place, and strutted among the ruins afterwords, pitying the survivors, and Proud of their accomplishments, like the drunken Hooligans that they are. The Humpers played one of the best sets I've ever seen any band play in my whole miserable existence on this Earth. Ever. Wow. Just fucking Wow! I couldn't even watch the Mau Maus afterwords because I felt ashamed to be alive after what I had just witnessed. I believe it's called Survivor's Guilt. I had it bad, so I situated myself on the corner of the bar where Deana took care of me with King Kong sized cups of Jameson's on the rocks until I was shit faced enough to drive home. Lucky. All weekend long. I couldn't make it to Sunday nights events, on account of my legs not working, my back not moving, and my bruises very much hurting. I wouldn't of gone anywhere near the Beauty Bar, where some bands I wanted nothing to do with were playing, but I think I missed out on some Cake and Whiskey @ the LVCS for Kate's Birthday party happening there. Oh well. I came home Broke, Beaten and Hungover. I think that means I had fun! LOL It was worth everything I put into it. The Shake Down was a fantastic fun time. If you missed it kill yourself now. Show Reviews forthcoming.
A band called Forth Yeer are playing @ Yayo Taco tonight, and if you are encouraged to attend. Xtal says they're pretty good, and she's got great musical taste, although I am worried about her new band. ;-) There's a gig happening tomorrow with Life's Torment and Short Attention Span @ the Redstone House, and on the same day @ Stonewalls you got Caravels and Rooftops. I won't be at any of those gigs, but there's no reason why you shouldn't be. I don't think I'll be going to any gigs for awhile. I just saw the Humpers. Who else is even gonna move me enough to make the effort to see them play? What band is even gonna come close to doing what the Humpers did @ the Beauty Bar on Saturday night? Like I said, the Dragons were good, but the Humpers were better. Much better.
The Pictures of the Rip Offs are up. I put the rush on them, since it's so easy now to put photos up on the website, figuring that more than a few people would be interested. Click here to see them. I like my Pictures. They're funky and soulful. Sometimes it's not about the clarity of the picture, but more like what the picture conveys about an event or time or feeling. Sometimes. Anyways, I gotta get some sleep. I think I'm going to a BBQ party with the Lower Class Brats later on today, but I'm not sure. I just hope they don't ask me what I think of their band... hee hee hee
|
