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The
Independents and Motor Betty
@ The Continental 03.11.02
 What
could possibly draw me out on a Monday night? Monday's a school
night, isn't it? I should have been in bed, thinking of all the
work waiting for me in the office on Tuesday, right? At worst, I
should have been up watching that escapee from Jim Henson's creature
shop called David Letterman make his bland little jokes on the idiot
box. So what the heck were spinne and Bea and I doing in the Continental?
Well,
as I warned y'all in the gig listings, it was a hell of a show.
Even for the ridiculous day and time, the Cont was fairly packed,
and no one went home sorry—and if you don't believe me, you
can ask Brett. Brett read my editorial. Brett came to the show.
Brett bought me drinks. You should all be more like Brett.
The Independents
are, to put it bluntly, indescribable. Were, however, some character
from a Quentin Tarantino film to put a gun to my head and force
me to put my feelings into words, I would have to say that they're
kinda like what would have happened if Sha Na Na was made up entirely
of members of Genghis Khan's Mongol horde. Oh, and if they had Bob
Marley as their backstage guru somewhere. They play an infectious
'50s-influenced melodic punk rock, with some ska mixed in and a
sort of Misfits horror-punk vibe.
 I
would say that singer Evil Presly has terrific stage presence, except
that he wasn't actually on the stage for most of the show. Rather,
he took sort of a walk around the club, crooning '50s hits like
"Suspicious Minds" to young women and insisting that guys
sing along with faster songs we couldn't really make out the lyrics
to. We did our best to play along anyway for fear he'd kill us,
a notion reinforced by the fact that he'd occasionally headbutt
members of the audience. After he stuck his tongue in my ear, I
knew I was in love.
I first
saw these guys at Joey
Ramone's Birthday Bash, but you can't get to know a band
when they're all the way up on stage at a big concert hall like
Roseland. No, you have to have the singer get right next to you
in his leather pants and grab your ass. In tribute to Joey, their
late mentor and manager, the Independents closed their set with
"Blitzkrieg Bop," and damned if it didn't bring a tear
to my eye. Punk lives, after all.
Click
here to download The Independents from MP3.com.
After
a set like The Independents', you'd think Motor Betty would have
been a bit anticlimactic. To the contrary, Matt and his boys gave
us the epitome of power-pop punk perfection. Or as Brett said, "They
sound like Green Day!"
 "I
like Green Day!"
"You
like Green Day?!" spinne exclaimed, horrified.
Before
I turn this into a recounting of a domestic dispute, I should say
that Motor Betty really bears some checking out. They're a good
band that hasn't received nearly enough credit. To the contrary,
they've been screwed by the Forces that Be of a great deal of the
recognition and reward that they're due. Motor Betty put forth a
terrific amount of energy, and their shows are pure fun. You won't
find a better way to waste a half hour of your life. Go see this
fucking band already, all right?!
Click
here to download Motor Betty's "Kids" from MP3.com.
Psycho
Charger
@ CBGBs 03.16.02
 You
have to love a band that puts on a show like Psycho Charger. A band
that will take industrial, surf rock, rockabilly, Elvis Presley,
and God knows what else, feed it through a chipper-shredder, and
serve it up like a can of Dinty Moore stew. A band that's not afraid
to play in their underpants, drenched in stage blood. A band
that will take a dump in the bathroom at CBGBs.
Ever
since we caught Psycho Charger last year at The Continental for
the
first SoundPhile ever, they've been gaining a steady
following. Sure, a great deal of this following has been forbidden
to attend Psycho Charger shows by their parole officers, but such
is the devotion of their fans that they'll go anyway. It's no wonder
that Inside Connection magazine invited these guys to play their
showcase; the band is clearly going to go somewhere, albeit probably
straight to hell. We can only hope that Jimmy, Mack, and Dr. K.
manage to capture their stage magic on CD.
Click
here to download Psycho Charger's "Devilsnake" from MP3.com.
If
it goes up to 11, e-mail editor@corporatemofo.com.
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