Jett Black / Get 3 Coffins Ready / Primasonic / Rooster Brothers / HOSS @ Larimer Lounge 11/23/07

So it’s the day after Thanksgiving and I have nothing to do. One of the guys from Jett Black had handed me a free pass to the show so…why not? I figure that there’s nothing better to do so I head own to the Larimer Lounge early to get my drink on and, hopefully, hear some cool tunes. I have to admit, though, that the only band I’d seen before was Jett Black.

First to go on were HOSS whom I believe are from Ft. Collins but, unfortunately, I only got to catch their last two songs. I’d say that they sound like a cross between the Supersuckers and some hard-edged alt-country bands. At times they even have a more boogie oriented Motorhead feel and, I was told by the bartender, they covered “Ace of Spades” prior to my getting there. I truly liked these guys and plan to check them out again sometime. You should, too…since there were only about a handful of people in the place while they were playing…and most of them seemed to be in the other bands. That’s a shame. You missed out on some GREAT stuff.

www.myspace.com/hossrocks

Next up were another band I’d never heard of before called The Rooster Brothers. I have no freaking idea what these guys were doing on this bill. Typical new country music, if you ask me. Yeah, they played it well but it quite simply bored the hell out of me. I must admit, though, that they did have quite a few friends there…probably the biggest draw of the night. But…BORING!

www.myspace.com/roosterbrothers

Third band on this bill were Ge Three Coffins Ready. Sort of an instrumental surf/rockabilly thing. Not bad…and a whole lot better than the previous band but, to be honest, I was in the mood for some ROCK…so they disappointed me. Not much more to say, really.

www.myspace.com/getthreecoffinsready

Next…we finally got ROCKED! I had never seen nor heard this band, Primasonic, before but I had seen their name here and there. You have to hand it to them…they do have a great look. Reminds you of The Knack…or Men In Black…or even Reservoir Dogs. And I like that. Well, the guitarist on the right of the stage seemed to have just joined the band or been borrowed from another, though…and that’s a shame. They would have seemed more like a group with EVERYONE in uniform. But I digress. The important thing is the music, right? Well, I’d say that they play a cool mix of retro 70’s rock mixed with some 60’s garage fuzz and some good old classic punk rock. But the attitude is 100% PUNK rock. The singer even called himself an asshole at some point! That’s cool. Yeah. Don’t take yourself too seriously. I quite enjoyed these guys and will check them out again. Their singer gave me a copy of their disc after the show (I think he was a bit tipsy) and I might review it later.

www.myspace.com/primasonic

Finally, the band I came to see. Jett Black never fail to impress me. I LOVE these guys.Sure, they have a standup bass but they’re more rockin’ than your typical psychobilly/rockabilly band. They put the pedal to the metal…and damn hard, they do! This was their DVD Release Show and I sincerely hope that the few people there bothered to get one ’cause it ROCKS, too. How can anyone not love this band? And why were there so few people in attendance? Let me tell you…you missed out!

www.myspace.com/jettblackmusic

In order, the highlights of the night were Jett Black, Primasonic, and HOSS. The Rooster Brothers should have stayed in their coop.

Danzig / Horrorpops / Gorgeous Frankenstein / Suicide City – 11/07/07 @ Ogden Theater (Denver)

This was my first Danzig show in quite some time and I was pretty anxious to see if the man still has what it takes…but we’ll get to that in a bit. First we must discuss the openers. After all, it’s only fair.

The first band to go on was Suicide City. This Brooklyn, NY band consists of some chick on bass who used to play with Kittie and also that guy Billy from Biohazard. Their sound was a weird mix of nu-hardcore, screamo…and Guns ‘N Roses style hard rock. Overall, they weren’t horrible but most certainly were VERY forgettable. Nothing really stands out about them other than their killer drummer…and how incredibly idiotic and annoying the singer was. Granted, they did get some positive response from the crowd…but it was minimal, at best.

Next up was a new band named Gorgeous Frankenstein made up of ex-Misfits guitarist Doyle on guitar, Blitzkid’s drummer and bass player, and Doyle’s wife Gorgeous George on…the stripper pole. Oh, yeah…Goolsby (Blitzkid’s bassist) also handles the vocals. Anyhow, while the band has a pretty good (though nowadays a bit overdone) look, the music is (yet again) pretty forgettable and generic. Yes, it’s great to see Doyle up on the stage again but, overall, the band seems like nothing more than background music for George’s stripper act.

Third up were Horrorpops and they surprised me. Nice stage presence, complete with two very cute dancers, as well as some very catchy and hooky rockabilly infused tunes. Not exactly my preferred cup of tea but very good, nonetheless.

Finally Danzig took the stage and proceeded to rock the fuck out of the capacity Ogden crowd . Hard to believe that he’s 50+. The man most definitely still has it! This time around he’s joined on stage by Todd Youth (guitar), Steve Zing (bass)…and I forget who the drummer is. Oddly enough, ex Danzig guitarist Tommy Victor was also playing on this night at the Larimer Lounge…with his band, Prong. But, anyway, they played most songs that you’d want to hear from the Danzig catalog as well as some from the recently released Lost Tracks of Danzig disc. The man himself had a ton of energy, which was surprising, considering how he was playing with one arm in a sling. He was also in a GREAT mood…and it’s always cool to see him having a good time on stage. Yep…killer show! But one of the biggest surprises was yet to come…

Right before leaving the stage Glenn mentioned there being another band still to come…and then out came Doyle again, joining the band on stage for a short set of Misfits classics – “Vampira”, “Demonomania”, “We Bite”, and “Skulls”. That, my friends, was (for me) the highlight of the night. Jerry Only may still be out there in a band using the Misfits name…but THIS was a much better version. It was also the closest we will likely ever come to a full Misfits reunion.