Always a pleasure when Don Vigeant shows up at a Pollo show with a sick and twisted poster, and this is no exception. Get your face close to the screen and check out the details... Here is a show report I posted to Reverborama:
Arrive at the club for soundcheck, mass confusion as usual. As many of you know the Paradise has 3 stages, so music goes on constantly throughout the night. Well, through a scheduling gaffe somehow 8 bands were booked for the night. But with some shuffling it all worked out. The Neptunes had been scheduled to play but couldn't make it due to STDs (Spinal Tap Drummer Syndrome), so I got legendary instro guitarist Buzzy Frets to play, and he ended up opening the night on the big stage. Buzzy ran through some surf, some Jeff Beck style stuff and some of his own compositions that meandered through a host of styles. He is an amazing guitar player.
Meanwhile, the Berzerkers were upstairs playing for a crowded room. They sounded great and I hope they play more shows. Dino had a new old Fender amp which sounded thick and rich.
De'Briah, whose lead singer is the former drummer for the Berzerkers played next in the Lounge. They fall into the Dave Matthhews Bland category, though much heavier in their sound. They are going places.
Then Pollo played on the big stage. I had borrowed a video projector to show psychedelic videos on the screen behind us. I also borrowed a tape from a friend who said "It has some naked hippies dancing in front of a light show. Nothing hardcore"... well, softcore is more like it. Every once in a while we would turn around and catch a 15 ft nekkid nymph in an acid daze. We also had a four camera video shoot going on to try an put something together for our next CD. And, as I already mentioned it was a pleasure to meet S3 Agent Jet Powers.
De'Briah played a second set in the lounge.
Then SubArachnoid Space played on the big stage. They are all instrumental- two guitars bass and drums. One guitarist plays repetitive arpeggios and then loops them to form a melodic bed. The other guitarist tortures her instrument to new lenghths with feedback. Meanwhile the rhythm section is pounding away. Don't get the impression that SAS just puts together long pointless jams. Their songs are well worked out and very tight. They have the patience to let a groove grow, quite a big change from the generally frantic world of surf instros.
So there you go, a hell of a night. The diversity of bands brought out a mixed crowd that mingled freely between the different rooms of the Paradise. I think all the bands benefitted from the exposure, and the audience as well. Personally, I really liked playing with a huge screen video, as nobody was watching our ugly mugs.