Tiger Mask, Trash a Go Go
Mad Marge and The Stonecutters, Lords of Altamont and The Rocketz
Safari Sam’s
Hollywood, California
August 4, 2006
By Victoria
(SugarBuzz Hollywood)
Photos By Victoria
The crowd was overflowing into the smoking patio when we got to Safari Sam’s. We spotted Tony Slash of the Rocketz right away. “Hey, this guy never pays!” Tony greeted fellow musician Terry of the Kill Devils at the door. “Tonight I’m paying!” This WAS an occasion.
Inside, the DJ put on ˜Pushing Too Hard” and the guy behind the merch table giggled, “Oooh, The Seeds!” and started to dance in place. This is always a good sign when people appreciate the classics.
He was sitting at this very cool merchandise table with several other vendors that started out with the Lords of Altamont tees and CDs and ended up with Spitfire Interiors, “home furnishings for the young and Reckless”. Vicious cool stuff. Skulls and zebra everywhere. And next to them Kustom Voodoo. Nice jewelry and images of goddess Bettie Page all over. We love rock shows that serve the total rocker and not just the ears and mouth.
We missed the Irish Brothers. Got there a little late. They are probably great. Everything else about Tiger Mask was. This night sparked the triumphant return of this club after a 3.5 year absence. Tonight’s Trash Au Go Go (notice how they spelled it correctly?!) promised a Garage, Punk and Psychobilly meltdown. Where do I sign for this delivery?
Mad Marge and the Stone Cutters took the stage by storm around 10. In a short black skirt and shirt with black stockings and a hot haircut all black and blond, the effect was stunning. So is the voice. One of the best we’ve heard ever. Sharp, clean, clear with just a smidgen of kitty cat purring texture. Big finish was “Dial Z”. A real crowd pleaser that started a baby mosh pit.
Next up, The Lords of Altamont tore up the stage like Iggy without Ritalin. The six song set included a ferocious cover of the Chambers Brothers “Time Has Come Today”. Lead singer Jake never took off his sunglasses. He took a stand atop of their Farfisa organ for the better part of the set until he tossed it off the stage into the audience. This vintage rock organ is the size of a roll-top desk. Miraculously, no injuries.
Terry of the Kill Devils tried to tell us something at this point. We were right next to the speakers and couldn’t understand a word but nodded and smiled politely. Terry then dove to save the organ and helped push it back on stage. What a guy!! Small wonder he’s on everyone’s guest list.
The Lords breakdown like this; the amazing Jake Cavaliere on Farfisa, lead vocals and broken equipment, Spencer "The Dealer" Robinson on bass, Dave James on guitar, Shawn Medina on guitar and Thom Sullivan bangs the drums. They left the stage breathless leaving a trail of broken equipment. “You can’t play. We broke everything!” Jake yelled to Tony Slash offstage.
Our dear darlings, The Rocketz took the stage around midnight. What can we say about Tony Slash Red Horse? He should be elected Pope or President. Pretty like Mohamed Ali and plays the guitar like he made a deal with the Devil. Current line up includes of this classic Rockabilly trio is Mr. Pink on drums and Tony M on stand up bass. The Rocketz never miss.
Tony graciously thanked the fans, the club and the other artists. “We love playing with Mad Marge and the Stonecutters. They always raise the bar.” No shit. We had to leave early tonight and sadly missed out on local lovelies, The Deadbeat Sinatras. Next time for sure.
The Rocketz are on their way to NYC for the big Drop Dead Festival September 1 where they will knock them dead appropriately.
www.myspace.com/spitfireinteriors
www.myspace.com/theirishbrothers
www.myspace.com/thestonecutters