U.S.S.
Friendship
Room 710, August 2, 2003
Rolling
out of bed Saturday afternoon, after tearing down in birthday
celebration the night before, I was fortunate enough to see
the Texas Roller Girls at the Expo Center. After that, some
of us went to 710 to see Hobble, Sniffy and Friendship.
If you’ve
never seen U.S.S. Friendship, comprised of current and former
members of Fuck Emos, Squat Thrust, Chumps, Voltage, Chaindrive
and The Hammicks, you’re missing out on a Rock and Roll
experience of Lone Star proportions. Singer Russell’s
artificially deflated voice is accompanied by metal theatrics,
a tiny flashing heart light microphone and the aforementioned
cadre of pedigreed musicians - Dr. Fingers on keys, Jimmy
and McGoo sharing guitar duty, a bass playing Chicken and
Lance on drums.
They opened
that night with the fist pump inspiring “Two Metal”
and the crowd, already half in the bag, was revved up. By
their third number, “The Queen’s Arrival”,
everyone not being paid to be elsewhere was crowded around
the stage.
They hit
the highlights with “Spiros”, “Iceland”
and “One Eyed Lady”. But what really set off the
drunkenly wild (or wildly drunken) crowd was their Motley
Crue homage, “Home Sweet Home”.
They left
a few of my favorites off the playlist that night. “Grandpa
Died” is the patriotic story of an American hero’s
death in WWII and “Apply Yourself” - Jimmy Bradshaw’s
uplifting urge to “get off that tush, roll up your sleeves
and make your own destiny.” However all was made good
at their Beerland show a week later.
If you
read this magazine you’ve probably seen Friendship more
times than you can count. If you haven’t then you’re
either new or there’s something wrong with you that
needs to be corrected the next time they play.
-C.
Iago
Load
Levelers/Gun Tote’n Meateaters
Room 710, August 9th
I
arrived at 710 just in time to witness the frequently spoken
of, Gun Tote’n Meateaters who put on an excruciatingly
fantastic performance. Vocalist, the infamous Chad Holt, “whom
personally amuses me more than anyone”, was screaming
like a maniac and hurling himself into 50 gallon trashcans
from the stage 5 feet above.
This
is a man who will take the risk of splitting his skull for
your sheer enjoyment, what a sport. Ranting about sex and
war from within a Rubbermaid, bloodied and rolling in piles
of glass, was a show in itself. Not to mention the metal mayhem
of his fellow band mates.
The
music was titillating, putting forth all the energy of a cracked
out speed whore. An unyielding low-end with harsh bass lines
and unbreakable drumming had bar patrons ecstatic. The guitar
riffs were visceral and the whole scene was a rock and roll
circus. I have never experienced such joy and pity at the
same time, especially to the extent that I now can never forget.
I had a blast and highly recommend you catch their next show.
This band is one of my new favorites, I love you C.H. (not
in a dirty way).
The Load Levelers began their set with jokes of dick peeking
in the pisser and homophobic Texans. Both singers/guitarists
were picking and wailing their asses off, ripping it up with
the highest of style. The sweet sounds of hillbilly punk echoed
through my brain like an epileptic square dance. The audience
was rock’n and the music was blasting through 710, making
the crowd violently happy.
This
band is the sickest of the sick! The drummer thrashed like
Jack the Ripper with insane pattern changes and slamming grace.
The bassist slapped his piece like your step daddy, drunk
on Schlitz, smacking your ass for being bad (all the while
sporting a coon skin cap). The song about John’s dead
skinhead wife, titled “John’s Butthole”,
was my favorite, making me want to shave my head and drink
whiskey until I puked. John’s pants fell off half way
through, but he recovered gracefully with a guitar weenie
block.
They
also covered “Mexican Radio”, punk style, at about
a billion miles per hour. I loved the song about the hooker,
too. The Load Levelers are ear-splitting geniuses. The sound
was brutal and the vocals were equally so. This band wins
the grand prize from my reviewing experiences. The show finished
with both guitarists/singers’ dropping their pants for
a full frontal nude finale. These guys truly bring full meaning
to the phrase “Rock out with your cock out!” Cheers
to the Load Levelers for one hell of a show. Go make yourselves
the proud owner of their newest album “Barncore”.
-Erin Muscato
Sonic
Uke
Room 710, July 30, 2003
Happy Hour. What do these words together mean to you? To me,
they speak of easy going evenings after a hard days work,
good times with good friends, cheap drinks and if you happen
to find yourself in the right place at the right time, some
choice entertainment.
Well,
if you didn’t make it to Room 710 for Sonic Uke’s
set during the earlier hours that balmy Wednesday, you definitely
missed out. Their performance that evening was among the best
of their always excellent live shows. The talented three piece
was in perfect form, with band members Feral Stray, Dirty
Baby and the Unforgettable Unknowable’s hilarious vocal
harmonies and the latter’s colorful ukulele stylings
weaving their way throughout the highly responsive and enthusiastic
crowd that filled the band’s side.
As
I arrived, they had already started their set and were breaking
into their spirited rendition of the Dean Martin classic “When
the Moon Hits Your Eye”. By the time they were done,
the audience was responding with emphatic cheers and applause.
Even though I had seen them numerous times before, they were
still like a breath of fresh air blowin’ in off the
musical winds of the Red River strip and I was again quickly
cast under the spell of true entertainers.
The
set was wonderfully dynamic, ranging in scope from foot stompin’,
hard rockin’ covers like “Livin’ After Midnight”
by Judas Priest and the KISS tune “Lick It Up”,
to the simultaneous sexy and energetic version of the Doris
Day tune “Perhaps”. Their originals were equally
as good, running the gamut from soft and stirring to infectuously
fun as the three-piece vocal magic weaved its musical spell.
Of course, the ever-present ukulele undertones constantly
built the foundation upon which all the magic was created.
If you asked me to come up with one thing about the show I
thought disappointing, it would be the fact that the band
only played for forty five minutes or so instead of two or
three hours. But hey, that’s just me. Unfortunately,
their July happy hour stint is over and they will be going
on hiatus for some time while the respective member pursue
alternate endeavors. Sonic Uke’s next show will be at
Room 710 in mid- October with Pong, an excellent bill at the
perfect place.
So,
when the mellow days of fall roll around and you find yourself
in need of something fun to do, get up off your lazy ass and
take a ride. You need only to head on down to Room 710 and
treat yourself to the Sonic Uke experience. I don’t
think you will be disappointed.
-Reset Smith
|
