Sneaky Pinks

Night 2 began with Elvis Christ. A supergroup of sorts, but I couldn’t tell ya who’s who. There may be a connection to the great Uzi Rash that opened yesterday’s bash.

Elvis Christ

King Lollipop

Then the first King appeared! King Lollipop came with a complete set of drumming minstrels. Shannon (of the Clams) played some fine cowbell. Hunx (of the Punx) banged away. The King stood alone on the other side of the stage lookin’ as usual like Mortimer Mouse (astutely pointed out by Shannon in a recent TBB interview). It’s getting harder to find a YouTube video of that amazing character. Check it out now before the evil Disney empire takes it away!

Hunx and Shannon in the Lollipop drum brigade

Rock N Roll Adventure Kids

The Oakland Metro’s huge space seemed fairly empty but as the bells tolled 1030ish, Berkeley’s Rock N Roll Adventure Kids hit the stage and the place was packed. Yeah they played “Panties in My Pocket”, but also a rolicking cover of the Cramp’s “New Kind of Kick”. Thank goddess for all ages shows – by 11pm the guy in the next stall was puking violently, and out in the crowd there was stage diving and a sea of stiff mohawks. Between sets Russell Quan (of Mummies fame) was spinning some tasty total trash. He put on the Sonic’s 1st single, 1964’s “The Witch” and things got going. The tequila pours (save one) were very generous indeed.

Sneaky Pinks

Tucson’s Sneaky Pinks played a mess of Nobunny covers. Flashbacks of the previous night’s show came at me as if I’d never left. They played “Boneyard” and “I Can’t Wait” plus a few originals that sounded quite a bit like Nobunny songs but more heavily clothed. Not much skin tonight come to think of it. Yesterday Nobunny headlined in nothing but black briefs and a studded belt.

Shannon and the Clams

Shannon and the Clams pulled no punches. Despite all the recent side projects floating the Clams in so many directions (Egg Tooth, King Lollipop), the original recipe sounds better than ever. There’s a comfort in their cohesion. They head out on tour this week but return 8/12 to Oakland’s Lobot Gallery for Total Trash fest, so get some rest.

2 Kings: King Khan and Greg Ashley

At last his holiness King Khan took the stage. The slot was listed as King Khan & Gris Gris, so I assumed Gris Gris would back up the King…so glad to be wrong. Turns out that every other song was a Gris Gris classic with Greg Ashley giving it his all. “Apple Pie and Genocide”, “Corporation Station Agent”, “Pretty Belladonna” and even a little of VU’s “I’m Waiting for My Man” thrown in there. Paradise. Greg Ashley is a fucking genius. Fortunately he is playing the Total Trash Fest as well on 8/11 at Disco Volante.

Happy anniversary to you 1-2-3-4 GO!. Thanks for the record store. Thanks for the label. Thanks for the new venue! Looking forward to many more blissful years together.