I think I’ve mentioned this before, but I for one am
all in favor of getting the bugs worked out of this cloning technology. It
certainly would make it easier for me to cover more shows on nights like
this. Given the technological limitations I’m faced with at present, I had
to settle for doing a little club hopping to try and cover as much live
music in one night as possible.
I started my night at The Lime Spider where I was
expecting to catch Missletoe, a band that plays punk rock versions of
Christmas carols. However, the schedule got switched around a bit and
instead of being the opener Missletoe was moved to the closing slot.
Opening this show instead was The Sea Ghouls, a fun little cover band that
played surf and garage rock instrumentals.
Next up was The Legion of the Incredibly Strange
Superheroes. I’ve covered these guys before, but for the uninitiated their
shtick is that they all dress in superhero costumes and for the most part
play songs about the ups and downs of saving the universe. As with any
musical project that Zombo aka Captain Not U.L. Approved associates himself
with the emphasis is on silly fun. That said, the band can rock and on
occasion the humor can get a little risque, as on the song “Pussy Pants”.
Oh sure, they say it’s about a pair of shorts with pictures of kittens on
it, but if you believe that I’ve got some swamp land in Florida to sell
you.
Halloween may still be a few months away, but for folks
like me that’s no reason not to take in some groovy horror rock. And who
better to provide the ghoulish tunes than Zombo’s other band, The King
Dapper Combo? Although the band had a set list prepared, it was quickly
torn up as members of the audience shouted out their favorite KDC tunes and
the band obligingly played them. Skeeter had a little more edge to his
guitar sound than usual, and it gave songs like “Graveyard Cha Cha” and “I
Was a Teenage Frankenstein Junkpile” a little extra oomph. Unfortunately it
was getting late by the time the Combo was through. I had meant to catch
Femsickliver when they opened for The Mentors and wound up missing the gig,
so I wanted to catch their set at Annabells.
The show at Annabells this night had been another big
punk fest that included Dropgun and The Chrome Kickers among others. By the
time I got there I had missed most of the bands, but I still caught The
Standing 69s high energy set. They play loud and aggressive eighties style
punk that reminds me of Black Flag and The Circle Jerks, two of my favorite
bands. While the band doesn’t break any new ground, they play their brand
of punk well and certainly rank among the better punk bands plying their
trade in northeast Ohio these days. The club tried to cut their set short,
but they managed to squeeze in a few extra tunes anyway. Hell, when the
songs are all around the two minute mark what’s the harm?
Femsickliver was pretty well inebriated by the time
they went on, but I doubt it would have made much difference in their
performance if they had been stone cold sober. Still, the band managed to
make their way through the songs without grinding to a halt or anything.
Vocalist Russ Romance, bag of chips in hand, did his best El Duce
impression singing tales of trading sex for oxycontins, or, for a change of
pace, trading weed for sex. For all those worried that these guys are a bad
influence or threatening to women, you’re giving them way too much credit.
The females in the audience seemed to get the joke (one even stole the porno
mag the band threw out to me) and none of the guys seemed to be worked up
into a misogynistic frenzy. It was harmless, stupid fun on the level of
sixth grade locker room humor. I’m not ashamed to admit I had fun watching
the band’s set. (Bob Ignizio)
