Gonzo on the air, 1/9

The Creation-Making Time
Flash and the Casuals-Uptight Tonight
The Starlites-Everybody Needs Somebody
Gore Gore Girls-Astral Man
The Sonics-Do You Love Me
The Time Stoppers-I Need Love
The Eyes-I'm Rowed Out
Them-Half as Much
The Yo-Yo's-Leaning on You
Pink Floyd-See Emily Play
The Count Five-Psychotic Reaction
The Mourning Reign-Evil-Hearted You
The Detroit Cobras-Cha Cha Twist
The Brogues-I Ain't No Miracle Worker
The Animals-Baby Let Me Take You Home
The Monks-Oh How to Do Now
The Kinks-Louie Louie
The Chesterfield Kings-Baby Doll
The Fleshtones-The Girl from Baltimore
The Action-I'll Keep on Holding on
Dave Clark Five-Any Way You Want It
The Rolling Stones-I Wanna Be Your Man
The Balloon Farm-A Question of Temperature
Yankee Rebels-Hey Girl
Paul Revere & the Raiders-Kicks
Love-Seven and Seven Is
The Pretty Things-Rosalyn
The Swamp Rats-It's Not Easy
Davy Jones and the Lower Third-You've Got a Habit of Leaving
Lyres-Don't Give it Up Now
The Who-Lies
Les Fleur de Lys-Circles
The Standells-Dirty Water
The Nerves-One Way Ticket
The Golliwogs-Fight Fire
The Strangeloves-I Want Candy

The Wailers

No, not those Wailers, but the Washingtonian Wailers of the mid 1960s. Although they never gained much national attention, The Wailers were at the forefront of garage in the Northwest (in fact, Allmusic.com suggests they may have been the 'first,' although such distinctions are often dubious).

My first exposure to them was "Out of Our Tree," included on the expanded Nuggets compilation released by Rhino. Sometime in 2004, I'd heard the "Louie Louie" episode of Little Steven's Underground Garage. It was there that I first heard the Wailers' version of one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

The Wailers' version is the second to see release, the original having been recorded by Richard Berry and the Pharaohs in 1956. A few years later, the Wailers gave it their own spin, making it a bit less r & b, a bit more rock n' roll, and adding that oh-so memorable preface to the middle 8, "Ok, let's give it to 'em right now!" Shortly after the Wailers' release, two other area bands, The Raiders and the Kingsmen recorded the song, both riding the song to national chart success.

Curiously, the Wailers' recording is a little hard to come by. To my knowledge, it only exists on this import which combines the great live album At the Castle and the studio album Wailers & Co. This release also comes with 6 bonus tracks. 32 tracks overall, which is a lot of music on a single disc, which makes the $22.98 tag a little easier to manage.

Here for your enjoyment is Wailers & Co., including the group's great take on "Louie Louie."

Side note: I highly recommend Dave Marsh's book Louie Louie, a fascinating examination of the song's history and cultural impact. A must for rock/garage/pop culture types.

Show Review: Gore Gore Girls, 5/2

This is a week overdue, but it's been a rough week. The good news is that I wrapped up the semester yesterday. The bad news (for you) is that posts will still be sporadic, as I'm heading to the Steel City for a few weeks. (But that's good news for me, so it all works out.) I'll try to get a few posts while I'm there, but I make no promises.

The Gore Gore Girls are one of my very favorite neo-garage bands. As an acquaintance of mine put it so perfectly: "a near-perfect melding of girl group sound and Detroit muscle." I saw them a couple years ago, and was ecstatic to hear that they were gracing Iowa City with their presence once again. However, I got much more than I bargained for this time out, and got to see three other bands that I was very impressed with. So let's start from the beginning of the evening. And by "beginning of the evening," I mean 10pm.


Thee Almighty Handclaps!

I admit not knowing much of the local Iowa City music scene. The bulk of bands I come across are cover bands, because this is a college town with typical college students whose idea of going to a local show is paying $7 to hear upper classmen play Dave Matthews covers. I was refreshed to see Thee Almighty Handclaps open Wednesday's show.

The three piece consists of drums, a seriously fuzzy bass, an electric organ, and dueling vocals. They've got a great garage-y sound, and I was impressed enough to buy their 7". Check out their myspace page. Both of the tracks there are great, although my favorite on the disc may be "Sugar Bowl," which is not on their page. I spent some time chatting with their bassist and organist, and I'm told they're going back into the studio this week. I'll definitely be checking these guys over the summer.

Thee Almighty Handclaps! Myspace Page




Next up were The Rusty Buckets, another local band. Unfortunately I didn't grab any of their music, but these guys are TIGHT. And they have some great lyrics. I don't really have too much else to say about these guys. I will comment that the recordings on their MySpace page don't do their performance justice at all.

Rusty Buckets' MySpace Page



Then came The Dollyrots, a band whose name I've been hearing tossed around here and their, yet whose music I hadn't experienced. I loved it! They're musically tight, and have a great amount of energy. I could see some criticizing them for being too poppy, but I really don't care. They pull off the power pop punk thing very well. I picked up their newest cd while I was there, and it's been in heavy rotation. Great to have in the discman while on a run. I also have a crush on the bassist/lead vocalist. And yes, her voice really sounds like that, even when she's speaking. Also, they did a great rendition of Melanie's hit "Brand New Key," which I was pleased to find also made the cut on the album. Here's a live version of it:



The Dollyrots official website
The Dollyrots MySpace Page




And finally, it was time for the main attraction, The Gore Gore Girls! They're better than ever, still kicking ass, still taking names. They played a lot of material from their two most recent albums, Up All Night (2002, Get Hip Records) and Get the Gore (2007, Bloodshot Records). I was also pleased that they pulled out their awesome cover of The Golliwogs' "Fight Fire," which the also played the last time they were in town. Also similar to their last Iowa City performance, I was pissed that the crowd was so sparse. Seriously, what the fuck, Iowa City? At any rate, it was a great show. I of course grabbed their new disc Get the Gore and love it. All of three of their albums are great, but each release continues to improve and mold the band's sound. Definitely check them out if they hit your town.

Gore Gore Girls official website
Gore Gore Girls MySpace Page

I got on the guest list for the show, saw four awesome bands, and came home with two cds and one 7". A good night all around. And I also got to play some Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga at The Picador. Score!

Detroit Cobras

I initially came across the Detroit Cobras sometime last year. I'm not even sure what made me give them a listen. My music geek mind works in mysterious ways. A lot of great garage and other rock bands have come out of Detroit (Alice Cooper, the Stooges, the White Stripes, MC5, Gore Gore Girls, etc.). Also, for some reason the name reminded me of the opening line in "Search and Destroy" - "I'm a street-walkin' cheetah with a heart full of napalm." I don't know why that was triggered. At any rate, this rather absurd logic proved to pan out for me. The Detroit Cobras are now one of my favorite neo-garage groups.

Unbeknownst to me, they do pretty much all covers on their albums, and this one has but one exception, the great "Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat)." That said, they don't pick obvious, overplayed rock and r&b classics, but forgotten tracks and lost gems. I'm now compelled to track down the originals for these songs, which in my mind is the mark of a good cover.

The album's single, a cover of "Cha Cha Twist," produced this fun little video:



The Detroit Cobras also have a new album due 4/24, Tied and True (great title!). Hopefully they'll hit the road in support of the new disc, and I'll be able to catch them live. Lastly, the US release of Baby includes the import EP Seven Easy Pieces. I've provided Baby - buy the cd and get the EP too, ya lousy bum!

So crack open some whiskey, crank it up, and enjoy the weekend.

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