Pitcher Perfect Sunday’s

Love and a .38, Run Devil Run, Billy Boy on Poison

The Viper Room

West Hollywood, CA

January 18, 2008

By Victoria Joyce
(SugarBuzz Hollywood)

SugarBuzz Magazine

Just when you started getting cynical and jaded about bands in LA, an angel taps you on the shoulder and says “Get thee to the Viper Room.” Thanks Gabe, and thanks for skipping the “full of grace” jazz.

Hail Gloria! The Queen of (Club) Scream, Dayle Gloria is doing a weekly club at the Viper Room, called Pitcher Perfect, on a Sunday night yet. So named from the specials on pitchers of beer. Gulp!

Featured on the bill was Run Devil Run. We got a MySpace bulletin from Tom Dormacki, aka Domo, thier gorgeous guitar player. This wonderful band changed their name last year from Poets & Pornstars and got a great new lead singer. We’d have to be attending the Inaugural Ball to miss one of their shows. No “Hail to the Chief” in our future so over to Larrabee and Sunset we go.

Outside before the show, schlepping gear, keyboard player, Randy told us, “We’ve been in the studio. The new album is almost done.” That’s a great excuse for not doing any shows since September. Randy also lost the handlebar moustache. Good move. It was so Eagles.

Anyway, the club is packed to the rafters. On a Sunday! Keep this up and Sunday could be the new Thursday.

Love and a .38 kicked off the evening with a wicked cool set. Lots of slashing guitars and driving drums. Songs are sassy and dark. Think Cheap Trick meets The Cult. Lead singer, Ryan Hudson has serious chops and two tons of personality. What’s not to like?

Next up is Run Devil Run, who have always delivered a pristine show and they continue the tradition. With the new line up they have become more focused and sharp. Loose Blues Rock has given way to a tighter faster delivery. I think they’ve been listening to a lot of The Who. Riffs are deliberate and huge and Dave on the drums is even more furious.

Lead singer, Jeremy switches back and forth with a mic and a guitar. Randy on the keys does the same thing producing an even bigger presence on stage. And their new material is wonderful. “We’re mostly doing new stuff tonight,” was the heads up from Randy. Send me a set list!

The most charming Devil thing remains the on-stage chemistry. RDR is a real band, who relate and create together. And the hair flips are amazing. Newbie, Jeremy is looking more and more like Roger Daltry in his Hey Day and sounding like Marc Boland in his.

We caught just a touch of Billy Boy on Poison. They are another punk glam buzz-worthy LA band reviewed in Sugarbuzz last January by Cameron Dye (click here). Excellent stuff.

Thank you Dayle Gloria. And thank you Viper Room. We seriously needed a kick ass show.

In case you haven’t heard, the greatest radio station in the world died this week. We drove to work Tuesday and TK was playing “Mad World” by James Marshall and then whoop, a recorded message about “Indie not playing the corporate radio game,” looped with the Clash and the Sex Pistols. The message further related that Indie would be on-line only going forward. Now its all Spanish.

Our beloved Indie 103 FM, born 5 years ago, who played the greatest stuff and combinations of stuff, who did the greatest shows in LA, with our fave rave DJ’s who were all so smart and cool; Steve Jones, Shovel, TK, Henry Rollins, Joe Sib, Native Wayne, Paul Vee, et al, some of whom will stay and some not, are on-line only.

We are in complete denial. Anger is next.

www.viperroom.com

www.myspace.com/loveanda38

www.myspace.com/rundevilrunmusic

www.myspace.com/billyboyonpoison

www.indie103.com

SugarBuzz Magazine