archive nine

June 29th, Angry Amputees, The Nubs, The Jack Saints (I thought it was supposed to be The Secret Society Of The Sonic Six?!?! - Sam - ), Fracas, and Aces High at the Kimo's... Review by KsKelly...

Eagerly anticipated is an understatement about this show, seeing as how The Nubs have gotten lots of publicity prior to their record release party and this was an excellent lineup to accompany them in celebration. They were interviewed on Terror-Bull Ted's show on KUSF, and Jim was interviewed in the June issue of MR&R and a blurb in the Guardian, to name a few, so the crowd was pretty stoked.

First up was Aces High, who I was really looking forward to because Pat from the CW is in it, and they were great! Well executed Roots of Rock & Roll and they're all very attractive. Then we had Fracus, who were as good as when I seen 'em at CW, energetic and sweaty and mixing it up in the crowd, which ain't too hard to do at Kimo's. Joe, vocalist, always puts on a good performance.

The Nubs were very happy to be playing and it showed. They did all their fast material and the people liked them so much that we demanded an encore, and they obliged us with "Sheena is a Punk Rocker" and X's "Los Angeles". By then I was almost gonna fall over from dancing and sweating so much. Some ceiling fans up there were out of commission so the atmosphere was downright tropical. By the way, when The Nubs say record release party, they mean "you buy our record, we release one to you, then we get to party." so buy one already, they deserve it. It wasn't over yet, next up was Jack Saints, and I enjoyed the music, straight-up punk, and the look of Mike Desert's outfit, which I understand was an homage to Gay Pride Day. I think heels look really good on a guitarist, it lifts the ass just so. Maybe he'll decide to keep that look, hahaha.

Last band was Angry Amputees, and seeing as how I needed air and Mike from Stereo Types likes them alot, I let him go up and snap pix while I bullshitted on the sidewalk. Here's what Mike thought of their performance: So while Kathleen smoked and chatted downstairs the Angry Amputees rocked the dwindling but enthusiastic crowd. Kimo's was a real sweatbox that night and I know the hotter-than-usual temperatures forced some of the audience outside. I was forced to take a mid-set break for a few gasps of fresh air myself. The Amputees, as usual, seemed to be having a lot of fun on stage. These guys play fast, poppy, tough-sounding punk rock that I would recomend to anyone who is a fan of the Lunachicks. Check out their website for pictures of bass player Dalty's "stump" in various exotic locals. All said, it was a marathon night of rock and roll. Once again I found myself being one of the last stragglers herded out the door as the bar closed.

View the Pictures HERE

June 29th, The Dyke Parade on 16th Street, ending up in the Castro with visiting friends from Humboldt... Review by Mister Atakra...

Catlin moved into town today from Arcata so I walked over to her new home to scope it out and found a bunch of mutual friends (including promoter Justin from The Vista) drinking foofoo lemonade drinks before scouting out the Dyke March on 16th street. have a couple beers and we're off... about 100 feet to the Kilowatt Bar (which is probably my least favorite bar in this entire city). Suddenly we realize that the Dyke March has started and that everyone in the Kilowatt is a fucking imbecile.

Off we go, traversing the seedy streets of upper-mission/lower Castro, with the ultimate goal of drinking up a storm (of which we certainly succeeded), managing to...

1. Stop for large bottles of hard liquor at least three times.

2. Have my ass grabbed 3 times that I remember. GILLIGAN!

3. Head home abruptly when I realize that this party could go on forever. I got so sick that night that I totally missed the festivities the next day...

View the Pictures Here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/dyke_paradeweb02/

Join the "Announcement-Only" atakra.com Mailing List here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atakra/

June 27th, The Ghosts and 78 RPMs at the Parkside... Review by KsKelly...

I know it looks like I'm totally taking over the atakra.com review page but I can't help it if so many good bands play one after another in our particularly lovely little hell-hole of a city (That's OK with me, I've been a little side-tracked and poor to go to shows lately - Sam - ). Tonight I finally convey in pictures the spooky drunken debacle that is a Ghosts show, and that's all I can convey. Mike & I arrived right as a band, I think called Sweet Little Nothings, were on out of nowhere; they weren't on the bill and I was not excited by them so went to the patio and saved the batteries. Then Geno needed something to eat so we did that and an errand, so by the time we got back, alas! we missed 78 RPM's. Mike said it was good, too. To make up for it all, I took a TON of Ghosts photos, and it was a general free-for-all. Grimm was so drunk, (and the bar provided shots between songs), that the down and dirty a la Cramps kindof rock & roll got dirtier as the set ground on. There was even an extra set or two afterward from friends who grabbed instruments just to keep the show going. I was shocked that no equipment was destroyed or otherwise sacrificed during The Ghosts, because Grimm was careening about the bar like a loose cannonball on the end of a mic cord. Good thing there was hardly anyone there by the end, except us hardy few who stick around to get the last beer and finest drunken bullshit.

View Kathleen's pictures HERE

June 27th, DJ Sarin at the DNA Lounge, followed by a side-trip to the Eagle to see whatever band played... Review by Mister Atakra...

10:45pm...

Kyron5 - "Why aren't you here?"

Atakra - "My work had a keg party at 5:30 and I'm drunk."

Kyron5 - "I was hoping you'd come down to catch DJ Sarin!"

Atakra - "I was planning on it, but stumbling the three blocks to the DNA Lounge might be as mistake."

Kyron5 - "Well (asks DJ Sarin for a free pass), just come down and we'll make sure you get in... DJ Sarin will be spinning in an hour."

Atakra - "OK"

So I packed up a couple of presents for both of them, a Spice Girls hat, a *rare* Phantom Limbs 7", and the new Nigel pepper Cock LP (that not
only has my pictures of the band on the inner sleeve, but is also out on http://www.lifeisabuse.com/ ) and politely skipped down to the DNA Lounge.

I must be a glutton for punishment because now it looks like I may have hit up the Eagle to see who was playing after I left.

PICTURES LOST SOMEHOW, LAME!

June 26th, Fluff Girl, Extreme Elvis, Mutilated Mannequines, and The Lincolns at the Covered Wagon Saloon... Review by KsKelly

Try as I might to get down there in time, I missed the Lincolns. Damn. I feel doubly bad because I met one of them later named Mo and he was really nice, so I have to try twice as hard when they play again. I got there just before Mutilated Mannequins came on, and although they cleared the bar right out, I personally thought it was one of their best shows I've seen yet. They pared down the band to just keyboards, guitar, and Reginald, and he gave an amazing performance, while the music really tightened up. He still does the opera voice, but it was actually in time with the music, which was itself dark and jungle like in its intensity. He also did some very sexy moves with us in the audience, as it was such an intimate crowd.

After a looooong set-up, Fluff Girl came on and it was like watching our very own show in a living room somewhere. Bob was doing some crazy moves, and predictably lit his hair on fire, which I understand, after discussing it with him, that this is how he cuts it. It sure stunk up the room, but the show was very real punk from the side that just gives not a shit. A very real scene, man. During their set, I went back to experience the Extreme Elvis cleansing ritual that he was holding in the band's dressing room, which cost a dollar. Well worth it, lemme tell ya. He channeled some higher Elvis-plane energy in that tiny room and it was like stepping into another planet. I will just say it involved spiked Kool-aid, a hookah, chanting and lots of nude people, including me. I didn't take any pictures in there so as not to disturb the sacred atmosphere, but it was an Incredible Experience.

View the Pictures HERE

June 24th, Burmese, 7000 Dying Rats, The Quixotic, Magic Markers, Joshua Plague, and Control R Workshop at Kimo's... Review by KsKelly

This was supposed to be a mega-big show, seeing as how some of the bands were booked at the Galia tonight, where they just *hoisted* the Reverand Boom King and his nascent Monday night punk shows over the side. His ousted bands were to be playing on the bill at Kimo's instead where there were already 5 bands booked. I got there way early just to see what would happen, but what happened was that original show just went on and we sat in the car drinking beer until it started. (And thanks to Korty and KUSF for the tix! [HEY! Where are my free tix already?!?! - Sam - ]) When we sauntered in, first person I run into was Mel Zapata, who laid a copy of her new magazine on me, "Mistake", and it is very cool; it's got pieces on the Scurvy Dogs, Menstral Tramps, Punk Rock in the Parking Lot, lots of grainy pics and other good shit.

The first band on was Control R Workshop, a duo that was not playing with each other. Avant, I guess. I went downstairs. The second was Joshua Plague's (of BtPnLsL fame) Sanctuary Studio, a guy doing some singing comedy act that I heard was so bad and weird that I dashed up to take one picture only and ran away. Third up was The Quixotic (Chicago) Magic Markers, a cute trio of kids that had a certain garage band charm but failed to hold my interest (I think KsK is confused because The Quixotic and the Magic Markers are two completely different bands - Sam - ).

The whole show was worth seeing if only for 7000 Dying Rats, from Chicago. These guys were nuts, and had a strong predeliction for baring their asses. Six of 'em dressed in these Ninja black hoods and shit, they started off with a lame, painful rendition of "Feels Like the First Time", apologized for it, and then launched into a wild set with the two vocalists doing deep screaming and there was lots of heavy crazy guitar and much stage movement. It was great to see them slamming the audience; they were easily the most exciting band of the night. The final act was Burmese, who I know have great reputation, as evidenced by the interesting mix of crowd come to see them. They are also a trio, drums and two bass with vocals, producing a heavy-as-lead slow indie-metal. All in all, for free tickets, I'd say I got a deal.

View the Pictures HERE

June 23rd, T-N-A-Men Squared, The Dime Life Crooks, and Leavenworth at Kimo's... Review by KsKelly...

I had no idea I was even going out tonight. I thought I was going to a nice quiet evening for a reading at the Tenderloin Cultural Center that my friend Denise Dee puts on for anyone who wants to come and read anything, and I was reminded by Mike of the StereoTypes that T-N-A-Men Squared was playing at Kimo's! Oh, yeah, I almost spaced it! And well, anyone who knows Jake will want to see him go nuts yet again, so I am there. I actually went to the StereoTypes practice to make sure I snagged the Wastrel, and we zipped over to Kimo's just in time to race up the stairs and .......hooray! it's the Dime Life Crooks playing. Nice surprise. I am so sorry to say I missed Leavenworth, but one of the guys in it gave me a CD to hear, which I am doing now, and it's outré-spacey. So, the Dime Life Crooks were damn good, a very intimate and home-y type show. The audience was about eight people, but we were all highly appreciative of, except Evan from Scurvy Dogs, who kept yelling that they suck. For him, I think that means he liked them anyway. Jake said they were punk/hip hop and totally great.

Then T-N-A-Men Squared came on, and were fun to the max. I was very struck by how much they sounded like the Scurvy Dogs, but more fucked up if you can imagine. There was much jumping about and wearing of hats and some songs having to do with politics, exactly what the point was I dunno, but Jake was entertaining at every moment and a good time was had by all.

View the Kathleen's Pictures HERE

June 21st, Hollywood Hate, Smogtown, Strychnine, and Thunderfist at the Covered Wagon Saloon... Review by Mister Atakra...

Damn, there were so many good shows last night, but I decided to play it safe and head out to go see Strychnine since it was the first show after their month and a half long tour of Europe (don't these people have jobs? hahaha). Anyways, I had to eat first and I totally missed Thunderfist because the moment I got to the Covered Wagon Saloon I ran into long-time friend Shaunti who was visiting from Santa Fe. So I got a beer and waited for Strychnine to start playing. Two beers later they played, starting with "Dead Rats" and playing pretty tight for a bunch of old men. As always, Strychnine played a great set, buy their records.

Smogtown was pretty impressive too, but all their rabid fans were super clean cut, prompting many of the east bayers to react a little confused. They were really tight and fast, but I think I liked the machine-gun vocals the best. I bought both their records which I listened to later on and still like them, so that's all good. A definite Southern California sound too. HOORAY!

The first thing I noticed about Hollywood Hate was that they had great T-Shirts for sale for super cheap, but when they started playing I could hear a definite Strychnine-like sound to them. But about halfway through the show I decided that I liked what I was hearing and bounced around a little. I'd see them again. Weird moment of the evening was when I walked by the Folsom Gultch place down the street and got propositioned by some sort of (I think) black transvestite who looked like she'd been through the wringer. It was pretty fucking scary!

Check out the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/smogtownweb02/

June 20th, Portrait Of Poverty, Quick To Blame, Bottles And Skulls, Millhous, and The Dirty Thieves at the Kimo's... Review by KsKelly...

Yea know, I could have gone to Stinky's Peep show for the Numbers and Coachwhips again but I heard that Erase Errata cancelled and the crowd was dry and small, so it was a good thing that Miles from KUSF gave me tickets to Kimo's instead. I grabbed The Wastrel up and we arrived in time for Dirty Thieves, who we liked well enough to stand in front of and admire. They are from Tacoma, as told to me by the bassist, Kelly, and he gave us each a 7" afterwards when we complimented him on the good straight up punk, well executed. The next band was Quick To Blame; they sounded like Beastie Boys combined with metal to me. We went across the street for Jaeger and fish & chips.

When Bottles And Skulls came on, Oh Mah Fuckin' Gawd, they played one of the best sets I ever saw, mostly stuff off the new recording they just did in Seattle. It was seee-vere, it was a choice between taking pictures or slammin', and I mostly chose slammin'. It was a major chaos, as you can gather from the pics. They had this friend, Jeff, in the plaid shirt, who wouldn't get off the stage when he wasn't dominating the pit, and afterwards he smeared some smelly roll-on deodorant on me that that stunk to high heaven and I had to wash off twice in the bathroom. During the set, I decided "this is the coolest show to be at tonight in all of SF, maybe the whole west coast" (Uh except that Submission Hold played in the city last night, and I TOTALLY MISSED IT! lame - Sam - ). Lots of other people thought so too; I got to shoot the shit with The Reverend Boom King, and Ralph from Victim's Family among others.

The other two bands, Portrait Of Poverty (PoP RULES! - Sam - ) and Millhous, suffered a bit from following that, but we liked them well enough. It was pure stoner punk, and they had a fun kind of pit going for each band. I must have been pretty looped by then because I took tons of pictures of Millhous, but they were photogenic. I think they are all from Tacoma, or at least they are all touring together. Now that Covered Wagon Saloon is changing (.......a lesbian dance bar!?!?! Aw, cripes!) maybe Kimo's will take some of that business and we will all benefit from it. (UH, since Kimo's is up for sale, how about someone opening up a new venue instead? - Sam - ).

View Kathleen's Pictures HERE

June 19th, Glass Candy and the Shattered Theatre, Theteeethe, and Swann Danger, at Kimo's... Review by Mister Atakra...

Mustered up the energy to head up to Kimo's, running into Cookie of the now-defunct Subtonix and conversed about my recent vacation and the upcoming Skutterfest down in LA, then headed to the band to get some much-needed cash for the show. After accomplishing that mission I zipped over to Kimo's just in time to catch the last couple of songs by Swann Danger (who it turns out are members of Heart of Snow, cool!). I really liked the drum machine action and Cynthia's vocals were as awesome as ever. They had the entire room of hip scenesters rockin' out, which was great to see. Next up was Theteeethe, and what can I say? How about this; They sound like the members of the Black Heart Procession after going through tone-deaf therapy while listening to too many nineties folk records. Easily one of the worst bands I've ever had the displeasure of seeing play live. Perhaps it's an in-joke, but if it is, it's an in-joke with no talent. There were many people who ran downstairs to sing along with Madonna on the jukebox while Theteeethe played.

After that disaster, Glass Candy and the Shattered Theatre broke the mold and played a stellar set, complete with the usual broken guitar string and an obnoxious super-drunk lesbian fan who tried to heckle the band. Glass Candy was meandering about Kimo's through the entire *packed* crowd of fans and singing her heart out. The Shattered Theatre (consisting of two people) played a great set with almost no problems. I did notice that Glass Candy was wearing the same outfit as Saturday's show at the Double Trouble in Seattle! I hope she washed it between shows! Hahaha.

View the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/glass_c_kimosweb02/

June 16th, Glass Candy and the Shattered Theatre at the Double Trouble in Seattle...

I'm including all the photos from the night before in this set for ease of use.

Glass Candy and the Shattered Theatre already dress the part of new wave rockstars, but tonight's show wasn't one of their best in that it didn't live up to the hype that I've been hearing for over a year. BUT is was a small affair, with lots of youngsters in great clothes. I think I'm going to wait to review them for when they hit San Francisco.

The double Trouble is Carlos Lorenco's new used clothing store that seems to be doing really well on Capitol Hill in Seattle, and now that they're doing all-ages shows, I think more people should support his new endeavor.

View the pictures of my Seattle vacation here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/seattleweb02/

June 15th, Squeegee's of Fury Party / Co-Op Forge with Me Infecto Tiny Kings & Soon it Will Destroy Her in Seattle...

I'd been hearing all day about this huge party in south Seattle hosted by some sort of Iron Worker's Guild that was supposed to have bands and free beer. Obviously I wasn't going to miss this event even tho I'd be missing a rare appearance by Monstrawtikuss Frankenstienikuss at the EMP that Gregory P had managed to get me free tickets to (note to self, thank Gregory P for his efforts). Well it turned out to be a good decision even though my sober driver was pulled over for drunk driving (and he was stone sober!). Well after many trials trying to get to the hidden warehouse, we finally arrived at this MASSIVE warehouse complex that had been separated by constructed walls for each artist's work space. I totally missed Soon it Will Destroy Her, but was told that they were really fun by Laura Stiles whose roommate was one of the iron workers throwing the party. Second up was Me Infecto, a newish two-piece that was really fun. pretty hardcore, and they had lots of local fans from bands like Bloodhag and Teen Cthuhlu... Actually the drummer from Bloodhag even gave me a T-Shirt for his new screen printing business called Squeegees of Fury who apparently also did the silk-screening job for the Screamers 2CD retrospective a while back, great stuff!

The Third band was a crazy band whose name escapes me at the moment (possibly the Tiny Kings?), but I totally thought that they'd be great in a double bill with the Phantom Limbs who are on tour right now. Very odd with lots of energy, but I think some of the more scenester people didn't like them too much. Too bad, because I thought they were awesome.

Meanwhile I spent the better part of the fourth band's (possibly the Tiny Kings?) hippie set exploring the warehouse with Laura, Dan Brown, a guy named Matt (whose birthday was that same day), and numerous other band people who I've seen down here in SF when they tour. The roof was great fun, there was a rad photo gallery that featured all the artists involved in the collective, and the screen-printing area was pretty amazing.

I'm including all the photos from this night in the Glass Candy show that happened the next day. So look up already!

June 14th, The Coackwhips tour of San Francisco... Review by KsKelly...

Flag Day is not normally a major holiday where they close the stores and government offices, but it should be, just so everyone can have another frickin' day off, which we all need desperately. The Coachwhips celebrated in style by doing a city wide tour all day, starting out at the bike messengers' wall at One Sansome, then the parking lot at Ocean Beach by the windmill, then at Twin Peaks, (where we went but it was too windy and they were late so I drank a beer, looked at tourists and left) and finally, at 16th & Mission BART, where I finally caught them. They were running more than an hour behind schedule by then but it was still worth running around the city. They alternated playing with Mr.&Mrs.& Mr. Evil, an equally nutty garage-crazo band with an entourage of cheerleaders dressed in black with black pom-poms. The Evils did some covers like a weird version of "Temple of Love" and a kick-ass version of the Judge Wapner theme, "Guilty as Charged". A nice touch was the mini-habachi set up on a newspaper box, grilling tofu hotdogs. If you brought a flag with you, you got a free one. The police showed up of course to say it's over and John Dwyre said "one more" to him and and he said OK and then they each did like 3 more apiece. Snot nose wiseguys.

The culmination of this Flag Day extravaganza was the show at The Hemlock, which attracted a big crowd of social scene hipster kids, and boy, was it ever packed into that tiny room at the back of the bar. You know how hot it gets in Mission Records? It was hotter in there with all the energetic commotion and dancing. No body surfing this time, but a real active dance floor for the Coachwhips. Afterwards, I had the personal pleasure of meeting Extreme Elvis, and he really is a super nice guy; we discussed sexual malfunction and he was intelligent and sensitive about it.

Aren't there any other obscure holidays that deserve recognition with nights like this?

View KsKelly's pictures HERE

June 13th, The Feederz, Songs for Emma, and The Tramps at the Justice League... Review by KsKelly...

This was a Stinky's that seemed uncertain as to what to expect, but it turned out real fine. The Tramps were first; I really think they got lost in the sauce as far as the venue goes. They sounded much better in the CW but in Justice League the sound was muddy and diffuse. They were OK regular punk. Songs for Emma turns out to be one of the 3 or 4 political bands that exist. The vocalist is Tony (Holy Shit! I ran into that guitarist from Songs for Emma at Rainbow just now, and he humbly made the aside that the vocalist's name is Tommy,not Tony! Hard to hear in the Justice League. I am so embarrassed - KsKelly - ). He lives in the Mission. He's an anarchist. He gave out free political magazines. I always liked them when I heard them on the radio, so I looked forward to catching them live but they were not as hard-edged as I expected. Still, they were good hard alt-rock and very animated while playing. I also wanted to see them because one of the guitars is this guy Mike who I have seen at Rainbow Grocery for years and I met recently. The crowd was apathetic, which it always is, and especially when politics is brought up. Tony gave me one of his magazines called "The Rattlesnake" afterwards and we had a great conversation about us both living in the Mission and all the changes it's been through over the years.

So, when The Feederz came on people were excited. They have the rep of the vocalist, Frank Discussion, wearing dead animals and throwing them at the audience but they didn't do that this time. He was was dressed in a priest's shirt and basically just played with a little between-song banter and throwing stuff like menstrual products out to people. They played a long totally punk set that got the pit going good. You could tell there were lots of long time fans there who were wigging out. When they stopped, there was a long pause and they brought up a guy in a wheelchair who had been in the audience who turned out to be Frank Moore, a famous performance, himself. The poor guy has ALS or a degenerative disease of some such, but when they did the special encore and a stunning woman came out to sing while he partied on center stage watching the swirl of an active pit right in front of him, well, that was indeed a special punk moment. (I'm seriously bummed that I missed seeing The Feederz - Sam - )

View Kathleen's Pictures HERE

June 12th, Neither/Neither World, The Holy Kiss, and Black Ice at Cafe du Nord... Review by KsKelly...

When Cafe du Nord puts on a good show, it can be very cool. It was downright chilly this particular evening, but the crowd was hot and the bands were pretty damn good. My socks were blown off by Black Ice, the new side-project involving Stevenson and Skot B. from The Phantom Limbs, Kevin B. and Miss Kel from Sister Mary Shoelace and keyboardist Melanie X. They were like Joy Division, Siouxsie and The Vanishing all wrapped up together and extended. Skot B. did an excellent job on drums despite being ill. Miss Kel had scary stage presence, it was all spine-tingling good.

The Holy Kiss was next, decidedly (Decidedly?) Goth but with a definite rock-ish slant to it. I've seen them before so I spent a good part of the set getting stoned outside, but I do like them. The last one was a band I'd never heard of before, Neither/Neither World. It was a CD release party for them and I must say, for a CD release party, their fans are the most sedate, quietest bunch of celebrators I ever seen. No one was moving and the music was OK at first, much more mainstream sounding than the first two bands, so I went to yak at the bar. Then I heard them doing a decent Cure cover, so I went back in to find Hopeless and Jesse Trashed just dominating in front of the stage, having a great time dancing. When the band warmed up, they sounded pretty good if you like slightly retro Goth-y rock. Then I realized that I was standing next to a couple of former friends that I hadn't seen in five years, intentionally, so I was weirded out the rest of the night. All in all it was a very interesting show, and I will be very excited to see Black Ice again. (Me also, I've missed every show they've played so far... fark - Sam - )

View KsKelly's pictures HERE

June 8th, Fleshies, Gravy Train, Bananas, Bitchin' at the Bottom of the Hill... Review by KsKelly...

Whoever booked this show was brilliant, not only to arrange it for an afternoon Sunday show, but they imported some fantastic weather for patio hanging out. I was at a memorial for a deceased friend beforehand, so I missed Bitchin', unfortunately. I walked in just as Bananas came on. They were fuckin' funny, real fast loose frenetic simple chord stuff and the vocalist had alot of Bobcat Goldthwaite in him. High energy. Next was a goofy electronic dance thing called Gravy Train (a side project of the Gossip, I hear), and although I liked the ditzy routines and bawdy lyrics, I only took a couple pics.

The crowd was goodly warmed up now, so Fleshies, who just came back from tour and releasing their new EP/10-inch, 'The Game of Futbol' (with an umlaut on the 'u' ), well, they were psyched to play. It was one of the most amazing sets, and longest. They started out with having a friend, who I didn't catch the name, playing sweet cello on a slow romantic number. Then Johnny No Moniker was flinging himself into the audience frequently, rolling about on the floor, wrestling with patrons and Mattowar, (the Sexiest Man Alive) starts taking off his sweaty T-shirts, Brian Hamiltron wailing on drums, Vonny Bon Bons searing on bass. Johnny gets down to his little tighties, dripping and at one point he pulled off his sopping sock and squeezed the sweat to drink it! Outta control. I felt like I had witnessed a Great Performance. Now that CW is metamorphisizing, Bottom of the Hill could corner the market if they keep having shows like this!

View KsKelly's pictures HERE

June 7th, The Hitch, Totimoshi, Hillbilly Devilspeak, The Scurvy Dogs (get a webpage already you hippies! - Sam -) at Kimo's... Review by KsKelly...

Yeehaw, Scurvy Dogs at Kimo's! I snatched up The Wastral, Peregrine, and we hot footed it over to see if I could actually catch their set this time. When they play first, they go on early, so they are not drunk enough and they go really too fast. We got there around the second song or so, so we weren't drunk either, but thoroughly enjoyed the set and I totally freaked out one of the guys in The Hitch by acting like I knew him and taking his picture. Matt destroyed about three microphones and, I think, a mike stand this time. Then we ducked out to snag some Jaegermeister. When we got back, Hillbilly Devilspeak were on, grabbing my attention about halfway through their set. From then on I decided they were great, right-on, severe, the absolute real shit, straight-up rock. Will see them again.

Next up, Totimoshi, and anyone who has seen them will know that they were excellent. That drummer (Don?) has really grown into the position; also, Meg & Tony were having a good time up there on stage. I bought a halter top in homage later. Finally, The Hitch, and seeing as how I had seen them the night before at the Eagle, I didn't take any pictures of them again and just enjoyed the hip Kimo's crowd. There were alot of people who found it hard to walk, talk or just stand when we left, including me.

View KsKelly's pictures HERE

June 6th, Lost Goat, Dirty Power, and The Hitch at The Eagle... Review by KsKelly...

Although they were not listed on the List, I read the Bay Times and Don Baird, the rock critic therein said they Lost Goat were definitely playing there this particular Thursday. I scooped up the boys, Mike & Peregrine, from their rehearsal and we zoomed down to The Eagle in plenty of time to catch The Hitch. They are heavy-as-concrete hard rock from the ZZ Top school of long beards backcountry type shitkickers, but the crowd generally seemed to like them. I know they are friends with lots of the people here from Humboldt County, so when they play here they always have a good following. Yeah, they were good. Next was Dirty Power, and they also were hard rock in the same vein. The music didn't stick in my mind or anything but I remember being drunk by this time and having a real good time. I did like the energy of the lead guitar on the end, he moved around alot.

Lost Goat was nothing short of HOT this night; they had a packed house and they were on it. Eric, the guitar player, never shows his face, it's always hidden in his hair but I got a good shot of him rocking out actually face up. They played a really long and totally great set and the crowd was screaming for more when they stopped in exhaustion. We had the best time hanging out with Cookie Tuff, and I zero'd in on Don Baird, who I met many years ago when he was DJ'ing at a basement club, so it's hard to remember what someone looks like after all that time, but I had great pleasure in chatting him up for a few minutes. Good frickin' Eagle show, dude.

View KsKelly's pictures HERE

June 6th, Red and White Fleet Tour of the Bay...

I took a bunch of pictures when I went with my visiting sister Emily and her husband Zander on one of those Red and White Fleet tours where they take you under the Golden Gate Bridge and around the back end of Alcatraz. It was very calming and they give you this relatively well-produced tape with the history of the bay to listen to (and free popcorn!).

Check them out here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/ship_tourweb02/

June 4th, Depressor, Scorned, Consume, and Blown to Bits at The Covered Wagon Saloon... Review and Pictures by KsKelly...

I missed Blown To Bits, which sucked because I'd been telling the vocalist, Jimmy, for days that I was coming to see him. Got there in time for Consume, from WA, (ex-members of Shitlist) and they were pretty good hard metallic rock. Then the next one, Scorned, I kinda thought sounded the same for each song. Lotsa screaming by a woman with the deepest male voice ever (Not deeper than the girl from Damad I'll bet, hahaha -Sam-). By then I ran into Steve from Forcing Bloom, Jeff from STFU, Mogar the security guy, Chris from Floating Goat, Eric from Brainoil, and John who used to be from Retox so there was much drunken conversation.

Finally, Depressor got on and they totally rocked, heavy-duty metal with a punkish edge, the crowd was enthusiastic. I like them more each time I see them. Then, boom, it was over. Oh yeah, I met this guy from a couple of bands, one of which is called Heather, who's about to tour Europe, maybe called Ian? Check the cat vertebrae on his beard, it's way cool. Finally, there was a flurry of excitement at the end of the bar because they said one of the members of Metallica was hanging out there after their secret set under another name at Kimo's. I didn't get a picture of him because, frankly, I don't give a shit. (Oh yea, I heard they were going to do that last night, looks like the has-beens needed a small show to drum up local favors now that they've pissed off everyone else with their anti-MP3 crap... how pathetic, but interesting that they did Ramones covers the day before Dee Dee overdosed! COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT! - Sam-).

View Kathleen's pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/ksk01/

June 3rd, KMFDM with PIG, 16 Volt, and the Kidney Thieves at the DNA Lounge...

Arrived at the DNA Lounge just early enough to get my wallet chain confiscated from the door security which sucked, but I *guess* it was in the band's writer or something since that has never happened before. Catch about three songs by the Kidney Thieves who pretty much sucked. Oh well, I expected that. They DID give me a new CD release by Cleopatra Records later, so Kudos to them!

16 Volt got on stage and were OK, but have become even more metal (if that's possible) than I remember them being. Their sound was awful, sounding muddy until the last few songs. I think KMFDM's sound guy was doing it deliberately to make KMFDM sound better later... But that didn't work. However, I did buy the newest limited edition 16 Volt CD.

About this time was when I realized that Phil Lesch of the Greatful Dead had been playing up the street at Slims earlier in the day, which explains me getting spanged by white kids with dreadlocks before the show. Ick! Cut your hair and get a job already HIPPIES! The dead is DEAD!

KMFDM... For a band that has so much equipment (taking over nearly the entire stage and a HUGE area for the soundboard by the stairs), they were less than stellar. They opened their set with DIY. I initially thought that they'd gotten the chick in the band to offset the testosterone that is so readily apparent in their fans, but since there was a huge gay contingent here, everyone just looks a little confused, hahaha...

Where did all these fans come from? I only saw a few friendly faces, the rest must have been the bridge-and-tunnel crowd I suppose.

View the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/kmfdmweb02/

June 2nd, The Phantom Limbs, Erase Errata, and The Vanishing at the Bottom of the Hill...

Yarra du Jour comes over and we head to fellow synthpunk discussion board member adeemer's cocktail party that he's throwing for my sister who is in town, Yay! Meet some interesting folks, have three beers and get totally full eating indian food, I brought the nachos because my favorite Pakastain restaurant "Ganesh" is closed for remodeling. Talk about all things synth and the KMFDM show at the DNA Lounge. Catch a couple of busses to the Bottom of the Hill to attend The Vanishing's record release party with the headlining The Phantom Limbs and Erase Errata.

The Vanishing continue to amaze me. Every time they play they get better and better. Met up with Kyron5 who had never seen The Vanishing and she said that they were very Siouxsie-esque, something that I totally agree with. In any case her first take (being from LA) was that The Vanishing would fit right at home playing Release The Bats in southern California.

Erase Errata was the same as last week. It was too much seeing them twice in seven days, so I sat outside, drank three more beers and socialized with a few people. I even met up with Ex-Eureka resident Becca who used to come over to my house and drink too much and create problems. Not much seems to have changed with her.

Hung out with The Phantom Limbs "backstage" for a while, no huge platers of coke or anything hahaha. The Phantom Limbs had an OK performance, I had by this time switched to drinking three double rum and cokes for the show. They did all the favorites, but the crowd (which is usually energetic) wasn't as out of control as usual. Shorter than usual set. It'll be interesting to see how people like them for their tour of the USA which is coming up shortly. After their set myself and Yarra du Jour headed over to another ex-Humboldt party where everyone was doing loads of cocaine in the bathrooms and bedrooms. I drank another half pint of rum and decided to call it a night, even getting a ride home from KFJC's Ophelia Necro.

View the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/pl_bothweb02/

May 28th, Erase Errata at Mission Records...

Missed all the bands but Erase Errata, they were great as usual. I'm too busy to write a review, just look at the pictures already!

See the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/e_erattaweb02/

May 24th, RF7 and The Scurvy Dogs at the Covered Wagon Saloon... Review by Mister Atakra...

I was HUNG OVER today, making me miss half of the Scurvy Dog's set, but the last half was pretty great. Super fast punk rock that we've all come to expect from this local band. At one point Matt, the singer, sprayed beer all over those of us up in front.

RF7? Well I didn't like them. Sort of a M.O.D. rehash band, certainly not incredible. They do have tons of CDs out, but I wasn't even interested. Actually I left halfway through their set to go hang out with Adrienne of the Subtonix anyways. Maybe they got more original/better after I left?

View a few pictures of both bands here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/scurvycwweb02/

May 23rd, Apoptygma Berzerk, Beborn Beton, and the Bass Kittens at Slim's... Review by Mister Atakra...

Note to self - Kick myself if I ever go see Apoptygma Berzerk again, boy did they suck. I got to Slim's (I had thought that the show was at the DNA Lounge until about an hour before the show) and was told "no cameras" by the main tour guy (who was a total asshole throughout the show). So I put the camera in the coat checking area thinking "I PAID money for this?" Then I scoped out the Bass Kittens who were more new wavey in the vein of the bad new wave bands on the early eighties. Yawn. I looked at Dutch, the sound guy, and he seemed overly bored with their performance. Yawn again.

Beborn Beton had a great light show. Germans are so funny. The pudgy singer was energeticaly running all around the stage. I bought the CD.

Apoptygma Berzerk are rock stars. Their guitarist looks like a fool and they had the keyboardist singing backup vocals. This was not a good thing. At one point the singer sang a duet with a girl whose image was projected on the backing movie screen. Unfortunately it looked super silly and the girl was the same person maning the merch table (who was really nice, but didn't seem especially bright). So after a couple songs I say fuck it and get the camera, whip out a couple of shots and deliberately get kicked out. From there I headed to the Eagle, just in time to see possibly the worst rock and roll band ever. They were so bad that I forgot their name.

Basicly the entire night sucked, view the few pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/apopweb02/

May 20th, The Ghosts and the Omens at the Parkside... Review by KsKelly...

The Ghosts have a standing booking at the Parkside on Monday nights ad infinitum if they want to because they bring a bunch of friends and the bar gives the band free drinks. This works really well for Tim, I mean Grim, the vocalist; the drunker he gets up there, the better for his flailing about with his sheet, groping for his beer and screaming ghostly wails of woe.

The first band was The Omens, friends of theirs from Denver. They made a counterpoint to the white sheets with their being all in black skinny pants and vests, but it was still down & dirty garage rock & roll they played. One of their songs was the exact riff and rhythm of "Nightmare" by Bottles & Skulls, but not the same words of course. S-s-s-spooky. Perfect warm-up for The Ghosts, who proceded to totally take over the bar with raw filthy rock done with such careless fun that you can't help but stand up in front and give Grim a good kick when he rolls around on the floor and crashes into people. By the end there was direct audience participation, all six of us, being invited to join the vocals and pick up any instrument off the floor to play with them. I love bands who just don't give a flyin' fuck. (I Look forward to seeing The Ghosts, but so far that whole Parkside on the weekday thing hasn't helped for those of us who have jobs -Sam-)

May 18, Three Years Down, The Phenomenauts, Teenage Harlets, The Down And Dirties, and The Things at the Covered Wagon Saloon... Review by Mister Atakra...

Joe from Three Years Down invited me to go and check out his band and since they were playing with The Phenomenauts, I couldn't refuse! I walked in after totally missing the Things (who were apparently quite good), and managed to catch the last song of The Down And Dirties, but I wasn't very impressed with them. They did look funny tho...

The Teenage Harlets were pretty awsome in a garage seventies-style punk sort of way. The singer had lots of energy that was infectious with the crowd. Their set ended with an impromptu dogpile that was quite funny. The crowd loved them.

The Phenomenauts were also great as usual. Their set started with some sort of freon-type spray into the audience that totally caught me off gard, and they did the whole retro-future rockabilly thing and were stellar. They've added a bubble machine since I last saw them for one of their more ballad-esque songs. I bought all their pins and they were even selling new wave visors for two bucks! Brilliant!

I had my doubts about Three Years Down, especially since Mike from the Scurvy Dogs had said that I probably wouldn't like them, but by the end of the night they proved that they could definately entertain their audience. They did a Turbonegro cover, so Naes from the Northcoast Punklist was stoked. Even jaded scenester KsKelly remarked at the end of their set that they could definately rock. I just had fun watching the on-stage antics.

See the pictures already!: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/tydweb02/

May 17th, Breathe In, Enemies Front, Cutthroats 9, Dopesick, Un I.D. at the Covered Wagon Saloon... Review by Mister Atakra...

What a weird lineup. I missed Un I.D. which is a shame because I heard from KsKelly that they were really awsome. Dopesick was not my thing, I played pinball. They did do a Cure cover or something, but their fans were incredibly annoying.

Cutthroats 9 ruled! Take The Hitch, mix in the vocals from Slayer and Neurosis, and some incredible drum-pounding and you have Cutthroats 9! Their set was way too short, but maybe it was so short because He Who Cannot be Named and Vag were in the audience? In one moment I swear that the drummer's sticks were litterly crumbling with each powerful pounding beat. Unfortunately I completely failed to get any pictures of them because I was in total awe of their set. I think everyone was, especially after the rap-metal thing that Dopesick was doing and that Enemies Front was about to do, but more on that later. Meanwhile KsKelly and myself sort of got in a conversation with Christine from the Clowns (KsKelly was loaded), so mental note to self to go check out the Clowns when they play.

Enemies Front was another rap-metal band that I found to be really not that great, although they were tight. I think it's that whole jock-core mentality that irritates me. However they had some rabid fans who were practicly frothing at the mouth to see them play. Who snuck them on the bill anyways? I always find it interesting to see who spends the most on equipment and Enemies Front won the award for this show. Mark McKenna said, "Man, it was seeing a fat guy with his pants down, you just don't want to see that sort of action."

Breath In was the suprise band, totally punk rock, although they have bad hair. Super fast, short, and fun to see. I'll definately see them play again soon. I overheard one person say that they made the entire show for him, and I think I'll have to agree with that assessment.

Check out the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/breath_inweb02/

May 16th, Manic Hispanic, Fabulous Disaster, and Pinhead Circus (Last ever show in San Francisco) at Stinky's Peepshow in the Justice League...

Packed up the camera and headed down to the Justice League which really has never been my favorite venue, but it was Stinky's Peepshow, so how can anyone resist? Plus the Justice League is a bit larger than the CW and I've noticed that I've only been hitting up that place and Kimo's all too often and not broadening my horizions. So i get to the Justice League and realize that I'm probably going to be waiting for at least an hour for my ticket to show up with JPrice and Monterey Mark, so I headed up the street to eat some Popey's chicken (mistake #1).

So I'm sitting on the curb in front of the Justice League and looking at the people who are showing up and thinking "wow, this is exactly the reason why I don't go to Stinky's Peepshow much" when Neil from the Mutilated Mannequines appears, telling me "Dude, I've been permanently banned from this place at least three of times, but I had to see Manic Hispanic". OK, this is a good sign. Finally Echo and Monterey mark show up, but not before I miss the entire Pinhead Circus set which sounded OK from outside, not great, but I wasn't inside was I?

Fabulous Disaster did their usually great set of pop punk, unfortunately I spent almost the entire time waiting for a drink and talking to Ex-Riot Grrrl Melanie from Humboldt County (who was one of the girls who tried to beat up Mister Davis at a Spit Boy show in the mid-ninties it turns out, hahaha). It sounded like she was doing good these days. I (of course) pounded a few shots of whiskey and waited for Manic Hispanic to start while people watching.

FINALLY Manic Hispanic got on stage and my first impression was that they did a decent rendition of all the punk rock classics, but with half the energy. Luckily it picked up! I spent about half of the show at the center-front part of the stage, laughing at all the hispanic references that reminded me all-too-much of living in New Mexico and of all my friends from those days who are now busy smoking crack and/or homeless in Santa Fe. Brilliant stuff to be sure. Lots of Damned covers, some Rancid, some Sex Pistols, and a few classic bands like the Adolescents and all that. But what could I expect from ex-members of the Adolescents, Agent orange, and the Cadillac Tramps? All in all, this was a pretty good show even tho I missed Pinhead Circus. Neil from Mutilated Mannequines kept pulling me aside and yelling "DUDE, IT'S BEANER ROCK!"Almost the entire night I was astounded by this portly woman who was go-go dancing on the right hand side of the venue. Was that makeup, or was that really a transvestite from hell? I tipped the other go-go dancer just because she wasn't the one with the bad makeup.

After the show I was ready and willing to call a taxi and head the fuck out of that area of town, but luckily a kind muni bus driver saw us and gave us a ride to the homestead even though he was not in service. We gave him a beer and he picked up all the punky looking people we told him to on the way home. His name was Jimmy and he gave me faith in the muni system, and who ever thought that would happen?!?!

Pictures can be found here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/manichispanicweb02/

may 5th, Born Dead Icons, Kontraklasse, Blown To Bits, Born/Dead, and Necktie Party at Mission Records... Review by Mister Atakra

Frankly, so long has passed that I only remember Kontraklasse and Necktie Party as being really good, but hopefully when I edit the pictures in the next few days it'll jog my memory.

Well that didn't happen, so view the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/blowntobitsweb02/

May 2nd, The Phantom Limbs, Iowaska, The Flaming Stars, and MC Jello Biafra at The Great American Music Hall... Review by KsKelly...

This big Alternative Tentacles Showcase had lots of press beforehand. Jello Biafra has such reputation that when he appears now, it is on the level of high spectacle, so when we gathered in GAMH it was with palpable anticipation, which only goes to prove again that when you expect alot you may not get it as you plan. The crowd did not fill the hall, and the people who were there for one band were not into the other bands on the bill and no one was into hearing long political rants which they may or may not have agreed with.

Iowaska was first, with psychedelic English caravan hippie punkish rock that mostly left this crowd puzzled more than anything else. Then Jello Biafra talked for a long time about the Middle East. Iowaska has a stupid name and two good songs - Sam - . Next was The Flaming Stars, another British find that was kind of a cross between The Fall and Velvet Underground. They were OK for what they were doing, but again, this was a mismatch of a lineup, so other parts of the crowd were now puzzled. Meanwhile, the bar was providing free beers to the bands and you know what that means.

After more polemic from Jello, The Phantom Limbs arrived on stage really smashed so they kind of didn't sound too good to a die hard purist like myself. This I can forgive, however, but what really detracted from this show was the audience. It had alot of nasty assholes in it who were there for their own pit violence and the band's expected nudity. This resulted in a guy, some Asian guy, who suddenly appeared on stage naked himself proclaiming about how small his dick is when he grabbed the mic away from Hopeless. What else is there for Hopeless to do but get naked too and wrestle around with him? It provided the element of strangeness that pretty much saved the show but the fucker wouldn't get off the stage after that! Granted, he knew all the lyrics word for word and had emotional baggage he needed to work out in public, but we really didn't care about the size of his dick and just wanted the band to play something good. Then it was over and the special surprise was Jello doing a number with Iowaska. And what was it with the singer of Iowaska? She was practically gushing over Jello for what seemed like forever. Hello, we live here and see him all the time, we're over it already. However their small set with Jello was (from what I remember pretty good. Of course I was so drunk I might as well have waited for the impending video to come out. Plus it's pretty hard to take political musicians seriously when they're wearing $300.00 raver boots - Sam -.

I'm sorry, by then I was so demoralized I had to just stand outside and smoke.

View the sordid pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/iowaskaweb02/

May 1st, The Coachwhips, The Numbers, The Quails and A Tension at the Peacock Lounge... Review by KsKelly...

Yay! Middle of the week shows are the best. The crowd knows a good lineup when they see it. The venue is a little place called the Peacock Lounge on lower Haight St. that rarely has shows. (I heard that the last time the Scurvy Dogs played there the management decide to have "No More Shows" - until tonight.) The show was put together by John Dwire from the Coachwhips, who told me this would be the last time he produced one as it's a pain in his ass. The first band was A Tension, an adequate electro-indie no wave garage-y type music that warmed up a lounge full of young indie hipsters. There were way too many tables in the bar that impeded the flow of crowd around the stage and as the night wore on they were pushed back further and further to make way for the surge of people who just kept coming.

By the time the Quails came on they were not letting anyone else in and the doorman was actively telling newcomers to go get a sharpie and draw the stamp on their hand. The Quails were a good garage pop band, lotsa energy. Next up were the Numbers, who played with convulsive precision and we really started to have a nice pit going. Sweat was flying. Last was The Coachwhips themselves and this was possibly the best show ever. There was the usual body surfing and one of the management was having fits about passing dancers over the crowd and kept running over to tell them not to do it and as soon as he left they'd do it again. Coachwhips never fail to have high energy fuzzy vocals/guitar and whipping percussion; they put everyone into a frenzied state. They are about to go on tour and have a new CD coming in a week. They deserve all the accolades they are about to get.

April 27th, Radio Vago and Sextional at Mission Records; Plus Crack: We Are Rock and the Drum Machine Museum at The Lab... Review by Mister Atakra...

I'd been hearing about Radio Vago for a while and I finally got the chance to check them out at the usually hardcore Mission Records this afternoon. It was a super dyke rock event so it was somewhat low-key as most of the regulars were off doing other things. But Radio Vago was quite enjoyable for the most part. Their first song was pretty good and the last song was the best in their set. I don't really see the comparisons to new wave and no wave bands of yore, but they do have keyboards which is always a plus. They sounded more rock and roll to me. I guess they are up here to record their first record, so that's pretty cool. Oh, and the band members were pretty nice to us even though we had testosterone instead of estrogen. Hahaha...

Sextional are from Portland and are another lesbian band, and they sounded like just that. I half expected to see Jodi Coyote on stage with each song. The last band, Running Ragged came on and I decided that not only did they pretty much suck, but they sucked so hard that I'd rather go home and take a nap before the ever-brilliant Crack: We Are Rock show at the lab later on in the evening. So I did just that.

Woke up again and walked down to the Lab which was as annoying as it usually is. The Drum Machine Museum would have been interesting if I hadn't seen the exact same thing done better so many times before by bands that have more talent. Of course a lot of the people in attendance were impressed tho. Maybe they should get out more often.

However, Crack: We Are Rock did an amazing show, and much longer than usual. I guess they are heading off on a US tour, so if you see them on the bill you should go check them out. Take my word for it, they are so awsome. They did a few new songs about sailors and prostitutes and always leave me wondering what drugs are in those big gulp cups that they always have. Due to their usual low light requirements my pictures came out looking more arty than usual.

View Pictures Here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/radiovagoweb02/

April 26th, Yarra du Jour's art opening at Cowboys and Angels... Review by Mister Atakra...

Yarra's paintings were brilliant as usual. Cookie, Jessie, and Adrienne from The Subtonix let us know that the new CD is out and that the vinyl should be in stores near you in a couple of weeks (keep an eye out for it because it's really good). I drank too much wine and started feeling queasy.

AND I got to see the sixty-foot Spider-Man balloon that's attached to the Metreon.

If you like Yarra's art, send her an email! or go see the exhibit yourself at Cowboys and Angels Hair Salon at 704 Powell St. on the 4th floor.

View the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/yarra_art_openweb02/

April 25th, Siouxsie and the Banshees, X-Girl, and Tribe 8 at The Warfield... Review by KsKelly...

When I saw that Siouxsie and the Banshees were playing the Warfield on my birthday I was giddy with delight. Mike S. bought tix weeks ahead of time and good thing because it sold out quickly, and it seems the people who sold out that first advertised show were mostly the kids in the Bay Area who still dress Gothic from the appearance of the crowd. There were more than a few grizzled old timers like me too. We got there relatively late considering that those corporate Warfield shows happen like clockwork, so unfortunately we missed Tribe 8, which kinda sucked 'cause I always seem to miss them. Them and X-Girl seemed like an odd pairing for opening acts, as the people waiting for Siouxsie were totally not into either of the other two bands. X-Girl was OK, but the sound was very muddy, the Warfield being so big made them turn up the volume so loud that all you could hear was booming drums and not too clear vocals. Those girls are very cute what with the worm costumes they came out in; they emerged like butterflies out of a chrysilis (Oh how cute!) but the schtick did not fit with the Gothiness the crowd was there for.

Finally Siouxsie came on and we screamed in anticipation. Wearing a slim tailored beige suit, she started pretty off-key or off-beat or something. We wondered if she could actually hear the monitors. Budgie was like some potentate high up on the drum set in a trance the whole set. They did some older material, one big hit, 'Spellbound' and they did do stuff like 'Ikons,' 'Nightshift' and 'Voodoo Doll'. Mike said they pulled out alot of B-sides from years back, because he got the set list off of a woman who grabbed it off the stage. I have to say, once again, that for all the dress-up and makeup going on in that crowd, there was precious little dancing going on in front of the stage. I guess if you spent hours putting together an elaborate costume and hair look, God forbid you should mess it up by actually exerting yourself and bumping into others on the dance floor! The sound improved as the show went on and she was liking the crowd enough to strip down to a black rhinestone bra at the end (and she looked damn good), but I never got the feeling that they went all out for this show. It was not rote, but it was just one more night on a drag 'em out and play 'em tour. Two encores, just like the night before. The crowd was lavishing vocal adoration on her nonetheless, and with good reason. She is still a goddess.

April 24th, CutThroat 9, Watch Them Die, Pitch Black, and Lana Dagales at the Covered Wagon Saloon... Review by KsKelly...

OK writing this when swozzeled is hard but here goes. I arrived pretty early to catch Lana Dagales, and they took forever to set up. It was pretty interesting as they had a subsonic bass sound going between songs which were each about thirty seconds to a minute and a half long. The subsonic sound made the whole Covered Wagon feel like it was taking off into space or something and the songs sounded like the cresendo of a metal song pared down to the essential scream part. Entertaining. Next, after more interminable set up, was Pitch Black and they were better than the last time I saw them, more pyrotechnics like shooting fireworks in front of the drums, and they were tighter. Good old punk sound. They also dealt gracefully with a broken string by playing around it.

Watch Them Die was a metallic kind of punk with much death metal screaming but I tellya when they got warmed up the crowd was way into it. They have the best tattoos too as displayed by vocals and guitar. They are friends of your friend Sean (who wondered why the fuck you were not there as he surely would have bought you drinks)... I liked 'em fine. The last band was CutThroats 9 and they totally ripped. Again with the broken equipment, a snare drum mid-set but they kept a great level of energy. The crowd was really mellow and just there to hear some good gol-dang music, which we pretty much got.

April 20th, The Pro Palistinian March at Civic Center, The Extra Action Marching Band at the Weird Day Celebration at 9th and Folsom; Ding Dang and the Black Furies at the Covered Wagon Saloon... Review by Mister Atakra...

I got up to the ringing phone at 10:00am and was told that I had to miss the last of cartoon day in order to acompany photographer Mark McKenna for a day of photo fun and trying to get into places for free. First off was the pro-Palistinian march that was going on at Civic Center, and man, when we got there all the black box people were raving out to a portable rave DJ (which was incredibly funny) and trying to block traffic on the street. And they were somewhat succeeding until the cops showed up. Then we sort of meandered around and watched how the hippies who had set up for Earth Day were dealing with all the yelling protesters. It was mary jane central and got really old really fast. Stupid hippies.

After that got old, we headed down to go check out the Extra Action Marching Band for a while, but we got there pretty early and just watched people, drinking an entire fifth of rum throughout the afternoon. The Extra Action Marching Band started, and they RULE! I guess it must have some of the old Crash Worship people involved and was pretty hedonistic and wild, a total scene, and lots of fun including audience participation. This went on for a while so we asked one of the residents if we could go on his roof and take more pictures and he said it was cool, so off we were, stumbling about the rooftops of SOMA taking pictures like crazy fools. I LOVE this festival, but they needed some weirder music on the stages. Rave music isn't weird in this day and age, it's retro already you numbskulls! Noteable mention to the guy on stilts wearing the GRIMPLE T-Shirt and twirling ribbons. Gee he looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. Possible New Mexico connection?

After climbing down and taking a breather it was decided that we'd go and take naps before the Strychnine show, possibly eating food before the show. It never happened. I spent the rest of the evening drinking and by the time the show came up, I was a little tipsy. This compounded by the fact that there wasn't one place to eat food on the entire walk to the Covered Wagon pretty much killed me. So about halfway through Ding Dang I realized that I'd better head home or I was going to pass out in the back room or something. So I got the hell out of there. I must be getting old or something, hahaha.

"Dude, I couldn't tell you who the fuck any of those bands were" - Mark McKenna one week after the show.

View Mister Atakra's pictures of these events at: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/wierdweb02/

Mark Mckenna's pictures of the weird day celebration can be found here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/wierd202/

April 14th, The Centimeters, The Sixteens, The Vanishing, and The Weegs at Kim's Pants (formerly the Ptomaine Temple)... Review by Mister Atakra...

KsKelly picked us up and we headed out tho Kim's Pants which used to be the Ptomaine Temple. The entire place is totally spruced up these days and had an intimate feel for the first hour because nobody except ourselves and The Weegs' band mambers were there. So we headed out to find a cheap burrito and possibly an ATM machine, to no avail. We got back and The Weegs hit the performance area, along with all their mod friends with BAD hair. It was pretty funny. The Weegs are getting better than what I remember from their show at Kimo's.

The Vanishing was up next and right in the middle of the performance, Jessy Trashed started stripping to the glee of many of the men in attendance (and a few of the women apparently). This started a trend that followed through the entire evening. I think The Vanishing were fantastic on this fine evening, and their gothis music gets better with every time that they play... and the audience eats it up every time!

The Sixteens got onstage and played their second show since their trip to Peru, and it was really awsome. Plus they have their new LP out now, so if you see any of the band members, ask them about getting one. They played seven or eight songs of super no wave madness and everyone loved it judging from the frantic dancing that was going. Not your regular ballroom dancing either, well perhaps if the ballroom was located in the midst of a heavy machinery complex. Actually I'm listening to their new album as I write this, don't you wish you were too?

The Centimeters finally got up to play and instead of Nora doing the bra ritual that Jessy from the Vanishing had started, this time it was the keyboardist. Maybe that explains the exodus by all of the Weegs fans? Hahaha. So this was the absolute best performance by the Centimeters that I think I've ever seen. They all were happy, talkative, and there was an unusually happy air about Kim's Pants, this new ownership thing is definately a good thing! The Centimeters played all the old stuff, some of their newer music from Lifetime Achievement Awards, and a couple songs that I assume are yet-to-be recorded. It was even more fun that their show the night before at the Odeon.

Afterwards we got lost in Oakland, which sort of sucked. But we made it home OK, thanks to the great driving of KsKelly.

View the pictures here: http://www.atakra.com/pictures/centi_pantsweb02/

April 13th, The Centimeters and Mike Boner at the Odeon Bar...

I totally missed the Sixteens show at the El Rio, but after heading up to the Odeon with KsKelly we actually ran into them outside the El Rio where they informed us that their new record is out (and it is really good) and then we ran into Neil from Veronica Lipgloss and the Evil Eyes who accompanied us to Taquerita Cancun for a beer and a bit of social talk about the current state of San Francisco's venue scene (it looks like Mutilated Manequinnes are looking for a bass player, BTW).

We walked over to the Odeon and immedately the "comedian" who was on the earlier schedule left... (Note to self - Comedy died in the late eighties, do not become a comedian until Bush has left office). Immediatly Mike Boner hit the stage and he rules! Mike was wearing some sort of fishnet leotard and what seemed to be some sort of chastity belt, which was weird because the only person who was touching him on stage was his girlfriend. Actually they sort of looked like perverse Victoria's Secret superheroes ala the "Brat Pack" comics from the mid Eighties. Weird stuff, but Mike was really nice to me when I talked to him. It's somewhat weird because his head is somewhat disproportionate to his body, so when he's on stage it's sort of like looking like a caricature of a demented Sonny Bono. Mis Tickle, his girlfriend was HOT! And when the whipping started... Well perhaps I've said too much. I think Mike needs a website, PRONTO! My only complaint with Mike Boner is that he was selling his CDs (CDRs) for $10 bucks, which is the exact same complaint that I had with Penis Flytrap when they played at the Covered Wagon. If you are attempting to sell CDRs in San Francisco, it's only worth five bucks. Jezus, even the fetish artist dorks have become extreme capitalists these days.

The Centimeters hit the stage and were their usual brilliant selves. Nora was biting and pretty much insulting to one of the keyboardists which sort of detracted from the overall event (can't we all just get along already?), but the new songs were super awsome. Nora and Max both did solo performances of sorts, including a heart-wrenching performnce of "African paper" off of the somewhat newish 7". All the people in the front of the bar were really into it, but incredibly well-behaved. I think I even saw Chicken John (owner of the Odeon and perpetual San Francisco weirdness-scenester and Burning Man advocate) rocking out for a second when he didn't think anyone was looking. The people in the back were all talking on their cell phones during the entire night.

Kudos go to Chicken John for having such a great bar at all in such an uptight neighborhood, as witnessed by the huge amounts of cops, annoying middle-aged complainers outside the bar, and trendy fashion assholes sitting in the back of the bar talking about their (ahem) "lives". Now if he could just get over the stigma of being involved with Burning Man... Hahaha.

Pictures of this show and a few from the night prior can be found at http://www.atakra.com/pictures/centi_odeonweb_02/

April 12th, Flush and The Scurvy Dogs at Kimo's and then the Radio Reelers at the Hemlock...

What a disapointing night. First we hear that the Zodiac Killers disbanded (apparently) and wouldn't be playing the show at the Hemlock. And as if that wasn't enough we get to Kimo's and find out that Doll House and Total Eclipse had cancelled and/or disbanded. THEN we completely miss the short set by the Scurvy Dogs because we had walked up the street for a slice of pizza. WTF???

Flush was pretty entertaining, Mister Davis was totally entranced, but they played a pretty short set, and frankly people didn't seem to be drinking too much and everyone was disappointed by the cancellations. So after talking to one of the girls involved with Los Pistoleros for a bit with KsKelly, a bunch of us headed over to the Hemlock to try to catch the last few songs by the Radio Reelers and luckily they had decided to do another set, apparently wearing wigs in an attempt to impersonate the Zodiac Killers. Totally funny, but none of us wanted to spend all our hard-earned cash at the bar (FILLED with people who had "meat market" on their mind), so we migrated back to the homestead and drank until 7:00 in the morning, complete with getting champagne to make mimosas at 6:15am. woo woo.

A couple pictures of the Radio Reelers can be found at http://www.atakra.com/pictures/centi_odeonweb_02/

April 7th, Assemblage 23,