 Holy shit ballz... did Teenage Bottlerocket really open up their gig @ the Beauty Bar last Friday with the first 3 songs off their classic album They Came From The Shadows?
I'm not sure, but I think they did? I dunno, I was buzzed, but I think they did... <3 Gawd DAMN were Teenage Bottlerocket amazing last Fri. night. To just watch them put on such a dazzling display of stage confidence and Punk music brevity to an amalgamated crowd of Dipsters, Music Fans, and horny old guys drooling over the chicks in The Bombpops, was just life affirming. I didn't wanna see Teenage Bottlerocket run through a standard 'Greatest Hits" set, not tonight, because they have an incredible new album called Wyoming out, and I wanted to basically hear them play it in it's entirety. It's that good. The band didn't do that though, but they did play a shitload of songs from the new album, mixed in with classics like Crashing and Mutilate Me and Freak Out. Watching drummer Brandon bash the ever loving fuck out of his drum kit is one of my guiltiest pleasures, and seeing the onstage interplay between Kody and Ray is pretty sweet too. The bass player Miguel has one of the the greatest jobs in the world, and he looks like he has fun doing it. It was a fantastic night and a great performance from Teenage Bottlerocket, that's from sure, and if it wasn't for the mediocrity and mundaness of some of the opening bands, I would of had an epic time. I mean seriously, what's a Frank Sinatra band doing on a Punk Rock bill? Is it seriously not OK to turn down a gig, especially a gig you have no business being on? Have we veered so far off course that the music our parents once listened to is now acceptable to us? It's not that way for me, of course, but for some of you, man, it's almost embarrassing at this point. There's a music scene for Frank Sinatra cover bands, but it's not in the Punk Rock scene. Nope. I think the lounges in the casinos would be more appreciative of that old peoples music, but what do I know? Same for Emo bands, same for bands with talentless girls in them. Girls in bands used to be well represented by talented women - The Bags, Babes In Toyland, X-Ray Spex, hell, I'll even throw in L7 to the mix, but The Bombpops? Bite me. If they were a band comprised of 4 regular dudes, nobody would give a fuck about them. Watching the horny old men and bearded boys drooling all over them during their set made me retch. Sometimes I'm ashamed to be male. I got to the Beauty Bar while Guilty By Association was playing. Try as I might, I just couldn't get into them. It's hard to watch a drummer fuck up drum lines that you know by heart, drum lines that you can literally copy note from note off of any of the bands previous releases, drum lines that I had a hand in developing, it's hard to watch someone just plunk and thump and lightly hit their way through things. Is that Hulk Hogan schtick his thing or what? Oh well. Whatever. People just kind of stood there during Guilty By Association's set, which was kind of sad to see. I mean, 1 die hard was trying to get a circle pit going during their set but he failed. Maybe it was the heat? I dunno. I tried to muster up the enthusiasm to take photos of them playing, but just couldn't do it. It was too hot, and I was too sober. I spent my time at the outside bar, chatting up everyone that was there and who wasn't hanging out at that farce of a Vermin gig going on down Fremont St. at Triple B's. Ugh. I've stayed away from commenting on the whole Vermin debacle, because I know the true story of why they're breaking up, from those involved and from friends of the band, and they preach mightily publicly about not breaking up because of the failed TV show they did, but that's EXACTLY the reason why they're quote-unquote, breaking up. Egos run amok, and butt hurt feelings because it didn't include everyone in the band. Whatever. It's not like they're not gonna come back in a few months to self inflate they're undernourished egos, Son Of The Vermin, The Vermin Returns, the puns on horror movie titles is endless, and boy, won't you feel stupid for buying into their schtick of "our last gig ever" and paying $100 for that drum head... LOL And I've never bought into their BS about being "the longest running band in Vegas" either, or the "Punk Rock Rat Pack" schtick they've tried to shove down everyone's throat. Vermin From Venus were a shitty Heavy Metal band, with songs like Lipstick Lezbian, Sex Kitten From Outer Space, and Bound To Please, a shitty ode to the joys of the subservient role in the BDSM lifestyle. Ugh. The Vermin didn't start in 1984, as stated on their Wikipedia page, nor were they one of the first bands to self-release an album in Las Vegas. Whatever. I for one am glad it's over. Fuck them. Maybe now we can focus on some bands that deserve the attention, bands that are actually doing something for the scene and contributing something to it, instead of just organizing public displays of self indulgent gratitude to stroke their already massive egos. I thought the scene was above that, I thought the Scene was better than that, but after seeing the turnout at Backstage Bar & Billiards for the gig, I'm now convinced I am wrong. Between Frank Sinatra cover bands, Emo bands passing themselves off as Punk Rock bands downtown, crappy Punk bands more Ego than anything, and, of course, Beardcore, Acoustic Punk, whatever you're calling it, I now realize your Music Scene is in a desperate, pathetic state. You guys should do something to fix it, make it better, or maybe just wait until Punk Rock Posing rolls around again to tell you what to do and how to do it. Yup. :-)
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