Punk Retrospective
27Jul/12

Luigi’s Slice Super Show – 7/24/2012

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

So beyond broke, you can’t even believe…and we really want to see this show.

I know we have already mentioned Sneeze Attack several times because they were so great in Davis and they have theoretically released the new EP, Aurora, on July 22. We have never been to an Arts & Leisure show yet, but Nacho Business were pretty damn good last time we saw them and someone in our office is freaking out because Crystal Stilts are coming all the way from Brooklyn. Can’t go…we simply can’t afford it. Hmmmm…

We really did agree to skip this show, and we were bummed, but then, Tuesday afternoon, bands started getting added to an already stellar lineup and we had to make the drive to Luigi’s…immediately, because the start time for the show was pushed way ahead! I tried to get Benjamin, my new friend from Sucker Punk Productions, to ride down with us, but he had to work.

So, yes, for another shot at seeing La Sera, and our first opportunity to catch Tim Cohen, of The Fresh & Onlys, in his new project called Magic Trick, we threw caution to the wind and used some of our remaining gas to go to the show we wanted to see…now with more!

When we arrived, I saw Sean Hills, from Punch and Pie Productions, postering the wall at Luigi’s…thought I’d talk to him, but he was gone before I could catch him. Sneeze Attack started at about 7:40, which was, apparently, a few minutes before the doors actually opened. Just a slight mix-up made us miss the first two songs…I forgive the kids at the door and their myopic customers.

Anyway, Sneeze Attack has a new drummer, Christine Shelley, and she fits the band just right! The songs we missed were the faster numbers (maybe I haven’t forgiven the door kids yet), but I liked their whole show. Dinogirl broke a string and had to borrow the Nacho Business guitar to complete their set…hey, Sacramento…this is a band ready for some big recognition. Here’s a video sample:

Next up, Nacho Business. These kids are funny, funny, funny. Self-deprecating from word one…Heather says, ”Can’t wait to disappoint you”…and they started off in a way I was almost certain would disappoint me, but turned it around so fast that until now I’d almost forgotten those a cappella moments. They broke down the fourth wall, if there was one there to begin with, and played jangly, pop punky-ness with some sweet harmonies.

Yes, I really enjoyed all the bands, but the biggest surprise of the night was Arts & Leisure.(Previously Baby Grand) There was something about this band that brought the Muffs to mind, no Shattuck scream, just energetic, simple rock songs with a duo of female singers. Gerri White and Becky Cale harmonize beautifully, but each carry the band when singing alone, their own individual attitude shining through. There always seemed to be some sort of endearing, inside joke happening…not sure what it was exactly, but they wore smiles throughout the performance and made everyone like them. Cory Vick is actually a really good guitar player, and some of my favorite moments came when Gerri would join in to finish off a song with a little more growl to her guitar. Maybe it was because I was right in front of her amp, but there was some real power there! Got one song on video:

[play-button:http://www.hardlyart.com/mp3/MagicTrick_Torture.mp3] Magic Trick - Torture direct link to free mp3 from Hardly Art: Magic Trick - Torture

Magic Trick, well…I haven’t seen Tim Cohen play since New Year’s Eve and never in his solo project. What was I expecting? Nothing…I actually had no idea he had a side project, so, even though he played on an acoustic guitar w/ a pickup ( I do love electrified punk distortion, ya know...), I was blown away. This guy is such a talented songwriter…the underground music scene is filled with talent…Tim is in a league with guys like John Dwyer and Mark Sultan. Genius. No, this isn’t ‘punk rock’ in the limited sense, but neither is Johnny Cash or Neil Young, and I still like them. And like them, there is a touch of Americana here, a melodic sorrow stringing everything together. When I spoke with Tim later he called it “sentimental”. Here’s a piece of video I shot when Katy Goodman joined them onstage:

[play-button:http://www.hardlyart.com/mp3/LaSera_PleaseBeMyThirdEye.mp3] La Sera - Please Be My Third Eye direct link to free mp3 from Hardly Art: La Sera - Please Be My Third Eye

Then Katy took the stage with her bandmates in La Sera. She’s always so happy and nice, even when inviting a timid audience to come closer. She writes catchy melodic pop songs and carries the band with her bass lines and smooth, strong voice. But…you know how, on the Ramones first 3 albums, there were songs that really stood out and the rest all kinda blend together. Something like that happens with La Sera, but probably only to me because I’m not too familiar with the material. Don’t get me wrong…it’s good:

And then the Crystal Stilts took the stage. Wooden keys on his keyboard, you say? Oh, and look…there’s Charles Albright helping the band get set up! Sacramento is a wonderful place and, even though I’m going to be deaf for the next couple of days, Luigi’s is not as bad a venue as I originally thought. Anyway, I looked these guys up online before I left, so I had an idea of what they were going to be…boring. I watched part of one video and made up my mind and, as usual, I was wrong, wrong, wrong. Again, not punk…maybe more garage-y, but really, this is a psychedelic band, at least live. They opened the curtain behind the band to allow the projection system to cover the stage and band in wacked out patterns…like they do at the big city psych shows and the keyboard player just started making noise. I was still a little afraid when the band started…there was an overwhelming Doors vibe coming over the place, but that was just the visual atmosphere and look of the band. It’s pretty damn amazing what a group of primates with musical instruments can do! Here’s a sample:

So, the show ended, Charles Albright helped the band tear down the drums, while Jerry Perry went around paying the bands and cleaning up the mess. I don’t know how many promoters and bookers put this show together, something like 7, but it flowed as smoothly as any show I’ve seen this year. Big compliments to everyone who made this happen. The audience was great, too…just happy to be seeing live music and getting a chance to dance around a bit.

Now the depressing part, for us…walking past all the merch and not being able to afford one of Katy Goodman’s shirts…can’t get the Crystal Stilts new EP or LP…no art from Dino…but, we did get to talk to Katy, Kyle Forester (keyboards @Crystal Stilts) and Tim Cohen..for a couple minutes while we passed down the line. I told Katy we’d been to her show at Bows and Arrows earlier in the year and asked if she’d been touring the whole time since. She told me she had. Man, I think I’d be tired of touring…I asked if she was and she said no, she loves it and that had only been in March.

Kyle broke in and said Katy’s crazy…she loves to tour and she will stay out for more than five months and still love it. We were asking about merch prices as we worked our way down, just in case something was priced low enough…I said to Tim that I wish we weren’t so broke right now…and that we’d been to the Fresh and Onlys show at Brick and Mortar on New Years. He said,”well buy something from one of these guys, because I live in San Francisco and you’ll probably see me again before you see them.”

That kind of blew me away…most people are so focused on what they’re doing that they don’t even consider someone else. I suppose they’ve all become friends on this tour, I mean Katy was singing along throughout the Magic Trick set, but still…I was affected by the gesture.

I told Tim I was impressed with his solo work from the show, but that I had only heard the Fresh and Onlys stuff before tonight. He said this project was, like I mentioned before, more sentimental, ballads, stuff the full band might not really want to do. I made the mistake of saying, “But you write some stuff in Fresh and Onlys, too, right?” He corrected me…he writes all of it. He wasn’t being egotistical, either. He really is a regular guy…looks a bit rough and tough, but clear-eyed and honest, and I believe him when he says he writes it all. I will be holding him to his insinuation that he might play in my neck of the woods if I contact him…but that’ll probably only happen if he remembers our conversation…good thing I wrote it down!

So, Sacramento, thank you! And please continue to support your local venues, bands, bookers and promoters. The more shows you go to, the more shows there will be. You are voting with your dollars for more music every time you support a show like this one. Every dime you put toward the Sneeze Attack EP makes it that much more likely you’ll see another one put out. Anyway…that’s enough out of me!

I did not see this at the show, might be some weirdness surrounding it? Can't buy it, but you can listen to it!


22Jul/12

SPP Video Magazine Vol. 1 iss. 6

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

Sucker Punk ProductionsHey Sacramento! Here's the Sucker Punk Productions lowdown on this weeks shows!! Don't forget to 'like' the Sucker Punk Productions and Punk Retrospective FB pages:

8Jul/12

SPP Video Magazine Vol. 1 Iss. 5

Posted by benabelm

Here is this weeks' installment of Sucker Punk Productions' Video Magazine...probably the best way to figure out which shows to see each week in the greater Sacramento region. We're going to have Benjamin dropping in once and a while to tell us what he's up to, what shows he's seen and what music excites him, plus these weekly snapshots of local music. Until then, here's Volume 1, Issue 5:

Filed under: Concert, New music No Comments
24Jun/12

Punch and Pie Fest: An Interview with Sean Hills

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

Punch and Pie FestOver this past year we have made a point of going to as many music shows as we possibly could. The situation for artists in today's culture is strange, if not nearly incomprehensible, in that the methods of getting your message to an audience are less expensive and more pervasive than at any time in history...but that audience expects you to give your art to them for free. The exceptions to this rule are live shows and merch sales...and this is why, on one level, we at Punk Retrospective make a real effort to get out and support local and touring bands.

Local for us, by the nature of where we're based, includes Reno and Sacramento...on a good day it might also include San Francisco, Long Beach or Seattle.

My attitude toward Sacramento when we first arrived in the area was that it was a boring, detached and isolated political town with nothing but corporate chain stores and a mall. I found Dimple Records, then The Beat, then Phono Select and then went to Luigis to see the Spits when they came through. I was fairly blown away by a couple of local acts (most notably, Rad)...so we started doing a bit more research and found a vibrant scene full of established and emerging artists.

The internet is a fantastic tool when it comes to finding live music, but this is only true because there are people on the other end who, in real life, are working with venues, talking to bands, setting up and promoting shows and putting the info on Facebook, Twitter and sites of all varieties...usually not making much money, either.

I happened upon a group, Punch and Pie, on Facebook that seemed to be near the center of most of the punk activity happening in the Sacramento region...through that group I was able to contact Sean Hills. Sean is one of those dedicated people at the other end of this equation, making shows happen by booking them and playing them. I was able to meet him briefly at a recent show his band played with the Great Apes at The Press Club in Sacramento. Here's some back and forth between us...

ElDorkoPunkRetro: I associate you mainly with your posts in the Punch and Pie group page on Facebook, but I understand you have a band, a festival and do work booking shows. Tell us a little about yourself and your activities as they relate to the music scene.

Sean Hills: My name is Sean, I play in a band called Bastards of Young and I book shows around Sacramento under the name Punch and Pie Productions. Recently I became the booker and promoter at The Press Club in midtown.

ElDorkoPunkRetro: Living outside of Sacramento I get a superficial view of what’s happening there. What does the scene look like from the inside? Are there rivalries or factions or is there a lot of cooperation?

Sean Hills: In recent years I’ve seen nothing but positivity and growth in the Sacramento punk rock community. There are a lot of great new bands and everyone is supporting each other. There might be a little competitiveness between bands but there’s no animosity at all. We all want each other to succeed.

ElDorkoPunkRetro: KDVS must play a huge role in the local scene. How closely united are Davis & Sacramento? Do you collaborate?

Sean Hills: KDVS is definitely an amazing supporter of local music. Unfortunately I don’t make it out to Davis very often so I’m a little out of touch with what’s going on out there. I’m not even sure if there’s much of a scene out there these days. I’d love to start booking shows out there at some point though.

ElDorkoPunkRetro: I know a few names off the top of my head that I associate with the punk scene of the greater Sacramento region… Ken Doose. Charles Albright. Sean Hills. Kevin Seconds. How do you feel being part of the short list? Who am I missing?

Sean Hills: Well, I’m very humbled to be included in any list with the people you mentioned. They’ve all done incredible things to uplift the Sacramento punk rock scene. There’s so many people that are involved these days, it’s insane. I can’t even begin to list names because I’m worried that I’ll leave out someone important.

ElDorkoPunkRetro: There seems to be a resurgence in rock music happening. Am I crazy or is there an insane amount of really great music being released? How does this translate to booking shows? I mean, I see 19 bands you’ve booked at the Press Club between the 4th and the 21st. Do touring bands contact you or do you contact them?

Sean Hills: All you have to do is take a look at Sacramento Punk Shows’ listings on Facebook and you can see that there’s usually at least one show happening on every night of the week. There are a lot of new bands getting started and for the first time in a while, a lot of touring bands are starting to come back to Sacramento. The shows are going really well and there’s an enthusiasm I haven’t seen in years.

ElDorkoPunkRetro: What is the state of music, in your opinion? You are in a unique position as an artist in Bastards of Young and as a promoter..how has the internet harmed artists and how has it helped them? What do you think of sites like Bandcamp, Soundcloud, ReverbNation, YouTube, Facebook, etc?

Sean Hills: I think the state of music is pretty incredible right now. The internet has benefited the music scene in many ways and harmed it in other ways. It couldn’t be easier to create and share music with people which is good, but many people don’t buy music anymore which hurts record labels and bands who are trying to make a living. As someone who accepted the fact that I wasn’t ever going to make much money from playing punk rock, it doesn’t bother me that much. But as someone who has been on tour and books shows for touring bands, I know how important it is for people to support these bands as well.

ElDorkoPunkRetro: I remember seeing you would be attending the Way Out West Festival Billy Brooks put on in Tucson. How was that?

Sean Hills: Way Out West Fest is awesome and we have a blast every time we play. Tucson is crazy little town and they’re lucky to have someone like Billy working hard and organizing cool stuff like WOW fest.

ElDorkoPunkRetro: I mentioned your festival in an earlier question…could you give us an early appraisal of how it’s coming together…who’s playing, when and where, etc?

Sean Hills: Punch and Pie Fest is happening from August 15-20 in Sacramento. This is my first step into anything this big so I’m a little worried but I think it going to be a lot of fun. We’ve got some amazing bands confirmed: Cobra Skulls, Tiltwheel, Red City Radio, Phenomenauts and Kill The Precedent just to name a few. The full lineup and schedule is going to be announced soon. Check out Punch and Pie Productions on Facebook and hopefully we’ll have our website up and running soon: www.punchandpiefest.com.

ElDorkoPunkRetro: Thank you for taking the time to talk to Punk Retrospective. Anything I’ve forgotten…something you’ve been wanting to say for a long time but haven’t had the soapbox to stand on?

Sean Hills: No, that’s all I can think of right now. Thanks for asking me to do this interview. These were great questions and it encourages me to keep pushing hard.

Here's the latest release from Sean's band, Bastards of Young:

Filed under: Review No Comments
1Jun/12

Sneeze Attack | Bad Daddies | Fine Steps | White Fang @ Luigi’s, Davis

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

It doesn't happen nearly often enough that we randomly pick a show off the Undie Tacos website and go, whether we've heard of your band or not. Last night was that process in slow motion as we went from having heard of one band, Fine Steps, to driving all the way to Davis to catch a show at the 'other' Luigi's. Luigi's Sacramento hurt my ears for a week when the Spits played, mainly because the room is so tiny and the walls so bare and shiny, so I was a bit worried. We were pleasantly surprised to find Sneeze Attack setting up in a great basement space...large enough to handle some noise, yet small enough to make it an intimate show.

Sneeze Attack played a really great set of punk with a bit of a pop edge to it. I caught their first two songs on video and hope to post them soon. Comment on the page if you think I need reminded. I sometimes do... OK...here are the first three songs from the Sneeze Attack set. Go out and watch 'em yourself!

I shot footage of each band, some more than others, but I made a promise to 'Bad Daddies' that I would post theirs first. My computer is crunching the video file right now, probably messing it up, but I hope to publish tonight. I will add the others as I plow through massive amounts of data on this ancient machine.

After Sneeze Attack was the band I drove all the way to Davis to see based on my love of a song medley off their split 7" with White Fang. I didn't know any of that before we left, aside from the fact that the guitar in 'Doesn't Mean I Don't Want to Die/ Tolerance' is one of my favorite sounds ever and it's a damn catchy tune. They ripped through their set in about 20 minutes...totally worth the drive!

[play-button:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16850984/A-Late/BadDaddies-DoesntMeanIDontWantToDie.mp3]Bad Daddies - Doesn't Mean I Don't Want to Die/ Tolerance Link source

Fine Steps were having a tough night. Their bass player Alex played his last show with the band before moving away and they were plagued with microphone problems through most of their set. I think I shot three of their songs...not sure if any have vocals. Good band, if on the indie side of the spectrum.

I'd been talking with the guys from White Fang most of the night. There was a bit of confusion at the merch table with 4 bands selling their stuff...finally got the 45's I needed. Thanks Camylle! Anyway...I'm lame enough that I had no idea what to expect from White Fang...they were all very nice...too nice. They were helpful, happy...it threw me off. Jerry even told me how long their set would be so I could know to change my card...so by the time they started playing, Nicky with his cowbell, I was sure I was going to hate their music...wrong again! They destroyed the place uniting all the bands that came before in a fun little pit.

It was time to go then and it's time to go now. I am dropping the Bad Daddies video in here now. It's not the huge file I promised everyone, because I had to re-crunch it to get it to upload. The dinosaur Mac is dying, but I hope to post videos of all four acts here soon. I'll let you know as it happens on the FB PunkRetro page...

Filed under: Review No Comments
22May/12

Lasher Keen Northwest Summer Tour 2012

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

Bluebird handed me an advance copy of 'Berserker' on March 11, 2012 and allowed me to photograph the original Markus Wolff artwork. I will not post any of that data until the new album, ‘Berserker’ actually comes out in May (postponed), but it really is quite beautiful.

I've spent a pretty good amount of time with the band over the last couple of months and will be writing up a piece on 'Berserker', my experience helping out on the Lara Miranda directed video for 'Rainmaker' (song at the bottom of this page) and what it's like to live within (the outer shell of) the bubble of one of the most creative groupings of musicians I have ever witnessed.

I have been collecting my own video and stills of the band. I've attempted several interviews and have recorded portions of several practices on video. As always, the best conversations seem to happen when no recording device is rolling and the deeply human aspects of all parties rise to the surface...but the depth of this band is always there, even in the physical spaces they create for themselves to live.

Then there is the live performance aspect of Lasher Keen. This is where the band really shines and where you (Portland, Seattle, Eugene, Nevada City and Sacramento) get to witness the current incarnation of this band playing their most intense songs with an incredible variety of instrumentation. Below the ShakyCam® video you can find the tour schedule for roughly the next month. It starts Thursday, so look now and enjoy!!

Thursday May 24th Portland Oregon
Alberta ST. Pub. 1036 NE Alberta St. Portland OR
With Waldteufel & TBA. 8:00 show starts

Friday May 25th Seattle Washington
Northwest Folklife Festival on the Vera Stage
playing from 9:15 ~10:00 pm
As part of the Underground Cascadian Folk Showcase. Visit http://www.nwfolklifefestival.org for more info.

Saturday May 26th Eugene Oregon -Private Event-

Friday June 15th Nevada City California
Stonehouse 107 Sacramento St.
scheduled to perform 9:00
As part of an all day festival featuring many great local Nevada City acts!!

Saturday June 16th in Sacramento California
Luigi’s Fun Garden 1050 20th Street
Show starts at 8:00
With In The Silence

OK...I will post this snippet of the album cover Bluebird posted on the Lasher Keen Facebook page.

13Apr/12

Shames / Spitting Image / Acid Baby Jesus @ Hideout Lounge 4/6/2012

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

ArtifactSo, it’s Good Friday…what should we do? There was talk about heading down to Sacramento to see Boats!, but no one could get too excited about doing the South 80 drive another time this week. Our local show seemed expensive and not too punk, leaving 'stay home' and/or 'go out for burritos' as our best option(s). Then something of a divine intervention took place when another member of the Punk Retrospective Collective noticed the fact that Acid Baby Jesus had lost their show in San Francisco and were now playing in Reno. Should we go? Acid Baby Jesus over Easter weekend in Little Sin City…perfect!

While they’d posted the fact of the Reno gig to their Facebook page, they’d omitted certain details…like time and club. We’d have a decent drive in front of us if we were going to make this work…Facebook messages to the band and Olaf (The Vinyl Avenger), phone calls to Slovenly and an e-mail to April finally paid off, 10pm Hideout Lounge, and, after dropping $70 into the gas tank, we were off!

Yeah, I’ve lived up here about 8 years now, but this is my first show in Reno. We saw Youth Brigade and Adolescents in Sparks…and, well, like that time, I get lost because of Obama and his infrastructure project on the North 80. Seven miles of labyrinthine detour and we finally found the Hideout Lounge. We park, cross the street and I immediately try to enter through the wrong door…yeah, I really am a dork.

Once inside we’re approached by a seemingly random female bar patron who asks us for $5 for the band, to cover their gas, etc, we comply. We ask if the band is in town, she tells us they are, but that they are currently being tattooed. Interesting.

This is a dive bar. The brown paint on the floor has mostly peeled off to bare concrete and the 70’s wood paneling is, surprisingly, almost in mint condition, though covered in beer lights and punk flyers. Two flags drape meaninglessly from the ceiling, one representing Miller High Life, the other is an American Flag with ‘PIGZ’ being the only decipherable word remaining of all the blue marker ink in its white stripes. There’s a really cool bicycle hanging from the ceiling and an awful light enclosure built-in over the bar. Two pool tables are pushed into a corner and are covered with OSB…I wonder aloud if that’s the stage, knowing in the back of my mind that the band will be playing at ground level WITH us! The bathrooms have no signage and, again, this is Nevada, so smoking is still encouraged in the bar. Even though I am suffering from intense nicotine cravings, I love this place!

The ShamesI also love it when the assumptions I make as I go through my life are shattered. For some reason I assumed Acid Baby Jesus would be the only band, since the show wasn’t planned, but rather, just happened. I began to realize I was wrong when I saw a kick drum, with ‘The Shames’ spray paint stenciled across the front, being set up by a guy who didn’t look at all Greek. Around this time I noticed the band walk in…the chick who collected the money appeared to be giving them some of it…I don’t know, it was smoky, the jukebox was playing Turbonegro and Iggy Pop, mohawks were rising and the rest of the Collective was having vodka tonics.

The young men from Acid Baby Jesus were smoking cigarettes and enjoying their first PBR’s of the night by this time. One of them started toward us because there was a huge row of ashtrays on the countertop behind us. I asked about the canceled show and joked around a bit about our long drives from California, eventually finding out his name was Otto. We talked for a bit and were eventually joined by Marko. Fifteen minutes later I realized I should have turned on my recording device, but I sent myself a lame-ass Facebook message to remind myself of the conversation:

“Talked to Marko about the US tour and their Israeli tour. The little guy told me a story about getting electrocuted in a beer filled basemwnt” (sic)

All that is true, but I guess I lied in the prior paragraph…I didn’t find out the little guys name was Otto (guitarist) ‘til later, though Marko (percussion) did introduce himself right away. Either way, I would end up spending about an hour and a half talking with Otto about everything in the world and a few more minutes with Marco after the show. They were all very proud of their Greek “acid” tattoos, including April, their Slovenly Records tour manager.

I was struck by a feeling of familiarity and friendship with this pair very early in the night…something akin to the fast-friends I’d made on film jobs in Los Angeles over the years. The ease of speaking with them made for a fun evening of joking around and I even got to share a little history of the rumored cannibalism at Donner Pass, which they’d passed through earlier in the day. Maybe they were just humoring an old man, but there was a genuine kindness and rapport I hadn’t expected.

What had I expected? Well, truth is I really loved the name of this band from the first time I read it on Spineflower’s Tumblr page last summer, but figured they were going to be another Brian Jonestown Massacre rip-off/tribute band. I'd also mentally lumped them in with a bunch of lame bands some idiots listen to on Blip.fm…so, because of these things I assumed they were going to sound shitty. I also figured that a band from Greece wouldn’t be speaking great English. Yeah, I’m wrong a lot.

PIGZOnce in a while I’d start feeling like I should let Otto get back to his friends and fans…or to play, but he assured me they were not going to play until after the other two bands. At some point in our conversation, he told me he’s 25 years old. They formed Acid Baby Jesus for fun about three years ago and have been touring pretty heavily for the past two years. There is a certain kind of wisdom in this young man. He knows this road life is for the young and is taking full advantage of the opportunity, but he is a young man and misses his girlfriend and family. The economic crisis faced by Greece came up a couple of times, so I know he carries concern for his country…but, at the same time he’s full of energy, quick to laugh, ready to share stories, opinions on food or even offer to buy drinks.

The Shames took the stage sometime around 11:30pm. They were an unexpectedly pleasant surprise. The two young ladies out front brought the crowd into the pit and that guy hitting the skins gave them a tight beat to slam to. It’s melodic punk rock with a bit of attitude. Totally impressed. I will tell you this…they are so much better live than anything on the internet shows, their recordings and YouTube videos do them no justice.

Spitting ImageAfter the Shames came Spitting Image. As if the Shames were all love and light, Spitting Image dredged through some pretty dark territory. Their material was a little more on the hardcore end of the spectrum, but it was more experimental than that. They have a new EP out on their Bandcamp site…you should check it out.

After Spitting Image finished, I started looking at the merch table and made Otto promise he’d get the band to sign an LP if I bought one. April gave him a silver paint pen and he went to work. He gave the album to me with signatures over all the members. I’d watched everyone else sign, but I knew Marko hadn’t touched it. Over his image Otto had written “MIZ”, which I assume means “Ms.” or something along those lines, because when I gave the LP to Marko he drew some breasts and something of a Barbara Feldon hairdo onto his image. A bit more laughing and the band started setting up. I figured it would be a good time to take the LP out to the car so I wouldn’t have to keep track of it during the show.

Spotting them outside the club, I congratulated the Shames on a great show and made a vague promise to help them get a show in California. It would be great if we could open for them, but there’s a lot more practice needing to happen before we play out. There was a lot of smoke outside, too, so I headed back in ‘cuz I didn’t want to miss a minute of Acid Baby Jesus.

The ViewI turned on my little camera and started videotaping about 3 seconds before they actually started playing. It was pure luck. I was about a foot away from Otto, nearly stepping on his effects pedals, and I could feel the crowd growing and surging behind me. When I think back on it now, I’m amazed the band showed absolutely no fear of the crowd or the electrical situation. There was beer a quarter of an inch deep on the floor and all of their effects pedals and amps were plugged into power strips that kept tripping from either pulling too many amps or wetness.

I remembered something I’d read in the Distortioni interview. They were asked a question about their sound being as mixture of garage and psychedelic and which thought more defined their sound. They answered that it was both and none…that it was hard to classify. Space punk, they call it on their Facebook page.

MIZI must admit that I was a bit worried for them when the first two bands played straight-up punk/ hardcore. The defiance I saw in the crowd as they challenged the other two bands, probably their friends, but nonetheless. I thought these poor, nice foreign kids are gonna be eaten alive. But the space punks had captured the audience during the first song and had built momentum. Midway through their set the speed peaked and the crowd came down on all of us. The entire mosh pit lurched into the bands’ area, toppled the singer and his mic and unplugged their guitars, and none of them flinched. For a few moments only Marko could play and sing. The rest of the band began sorting through the snake of wires until suddenly there was bass, then some guitar and then it all came back together and started to gel into something a bit weird.

I don’t drink or use drugs, but I spent the last ten minutes of the Acid Baby Jesus set in a near out-of-body trance. The beat, the volume, the reverb, flange, sweat and vocals all built into a great transcendent noise that swept me into a meditative state of awareness. I began moving back away from the band to see how the rest of the audience was doing and found a bar full of punk people completely tuned in to a deep psychedelic, garage punk experience. It was quite possibly the most intensely mystical, musical experience I’ve ever had.

Their sound is not defined by psychedelic, garage or punk…those words hint at what they do, but when you are with them live you’ll understand that they reach into another level, something other-worldly. The band was really wiped out afterward. We talked about the possibility of meeting up at Austin Psych Fest, then said our goodbyes at around 2:30am. The full moon lit the snow covered mountain pass as I drove through listening to the ringing in my ears.

...and now, my next installment of super dark video from the show (please buy me a decent camera:

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/1281325" height="200" iframe="true" /]

11Mar/12

Terry Malts / Bleeding Rainbow / Crocodiles @ Rickshaw Stop 3/9/12

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

I'll keep this short, because the video is long and, of the three bands, only the Terry Malts truly impressed me. The "Killing Time" album is well worth the price, as the bands' own "chainsaw pop" description is quite fitting. I'm not going to sit here and bash the other bands...maybe it was an off night.

The following extremely dark and overly long video of the Terry Malts pretty much speaks for itself, Negative Approach cover and all:

6Mar/12

LOSERLIST69: The Sacramento Punk Super Archives

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

Loserlist69I was looking for internet posts about of the Spits show I attended in Sacramento and accidentally stumbled into a really cool vault of Sacramento punk artifacts, past and present, called Loserlist69. The archive is the work of a very dedicated man named Ken Doose.

The tagline reads:
SACRAMENTO PUNK ROCK -Faded old pics, crusty flyers, show listings, stickers, record reviews, interviews, and various other assorted things that relate to the past and present Sacramento punk rock scene and other interesting places.

I really don't have the time to do this justice right now...but it's an awesome task he seems to have assigned himself and I'm glad to have found it. Maybe one day I'll run into Ken and we can do an interview...until then I'll be browsing through the archives of LOSERLIST69.

[play-button:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16850984/Dicks/lifetimeproblems.mp3] The Dicks - Lifetime Problems Link source

3Mar/12

Feeling of Love / Mikal Cronin / White Fence / Ty Segall / G.A.M.H. / 3/2/2012

Posted by ElDorkoPunkRetro

Ty Segall @ GAMH 3/2/12Last night was pretty awesome...aside from the fact that the Great American Music Hall frowns on video recording. The Punk Retrospective crew walked in just as The Feeling of Love, a power-trio straight out of Metz,France, finished their first song. My chimichanga over at Los Panchos was worth missing one song for, but it would have been nice to catch their entire set. OK, I'm busted again...it's psych rock...but I'm ElDorkoPunkRetro...I like punk and I like retro music, like 60's garage psych, and I especially like this new wave of punk garage psych that's blooming across the world right now...and the flower that is San Francisco.

We hadn't been here (S.F.) since the big New Years' show...and weren't really sure what to expect from The Feeling of Love. We didn't know how often Ty Segall would be onstage, since he records with nearly everyone on the bill. It turned out great, with The Feeling of Love pulling us into an intense psych trance through the last few minutes of their final song, thus setting the tone for the rest of the night.

Since this group of kids record together so much and are each incredibly talented, it was hard for me to predict what order to expect them in. Mikal Cronin played next, with Ty taking the stage with him. Awesome set from this great songwriter. He writes clean, simple songs then adds in the layers. I once read a Henry Rollins quote where he talked about how lucky todays musicians are to have learned from the old punk and hardcore bands like Black Flag...to get an understanding of lull/intensity...I guess it's something all four of these acts have learned, because they're masters of it.

I didn't record any of Mikals' set on video because...it just wasn't possible at the time. I guess I prefer the Brick and Mortar, since they're more camera friendly, though the Great American Music Hall is beautiful and ornate. The entire dance floor bowed and swayed with the movement of the pit, so much so I thought it may collapse at some point. There were chunks of the balcony railing raining down on the stage at one point...it's good to see a new generation picking up and reviving a moribund rockn'roll.

White Fence was great, maybe not as awesome as the New Years' show, who knows...my eardrums were semi-protected behind some earplugs, because I ended up at the side of the pit right in front of the PA stack. I hadn't quite figured out how to adjust the plugs yet, so my White Fence experience was a bit muddy this time...worth seeing if you haven't. Yeah, it's got a surf edge to it and it's psychedelic, but it's also straight ahead punk rock, sometimes verging on hardcore.

The evening moved upward in intensity as Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin, Emily Rose and Charlie (Moonhearts) took the stage. Is this what Toad would sound like? Who knows...but it was great! Anyway, it was basically the same configuaration as Mikals' set with Charlie on guitar, too. I'd adjusted the earplugs to allow in some treble by this point, but my tinnitus is unforgiving of these small luxuries. The good news is that bands of this caliber somehow make me feel my hearing loss is acceptable, to a point. The hooks, intense pedal effects and heavy beats grew to a crescendo that left the makeshift barricade in tatters. Get out and see these acts before this scene gets co-opted by the man.

Oh...and I did get some video...enjoy:

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/27704877" iframe="true" /]
[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1661754" iframe="true" /]

[play-button:http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10295501/02%20Dissolve%20Me.mp3] The Feeling of Love - Dissolve Me Link source