Went out tonight to see the Ponys here in town. I'd passed on their LP, considerin' it too new wave-ish, but I gotta say that in a live setting they were actually pretty good. They've got a strong 1977-NYC-Talking Heads-Television-Richard Hell kinda vibe goin' which is fine by me, in fact I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd included 'That's All I Know Right Now' in their set. Only complaint was the long freak-out thing they choose to close with. Heck, I would really apreciate it if bands would can this shit in the future. I mean; why bother?.
Truth be told: main reason for goin' out was support band the Sack-O'-Woes, who I've been eager to see for some time now, but shoot me if I didn't arrive late into their set and only caught a couple of their songs. My loss obviously, 'cause these guys do a real straight forward punk thing and do it good. Their recent 10" is proof positive of just that. These guys deserve your support, and believe you me, next time they're playin' 'round here, I'll make sure to be there on time.
(Dutch readers might wanna check Sack-O'-Woes mainman Niels' fanzine 'I Hate Music', available right here).

I dunno what it's like today where you're reading this but the radio, papers and TV here in the home of the haggis are awash with the 60th Anniversary of the D-Day landings. The marking of this event is all well and good but it seems to have been hijacked by visiting (in)dignitaries. Individuals who, for the most part, are in my opinion just using it as a platform for their own pathetic grandstanding. These gimps have all but halted the roaming of the real people who fought and lost comrades. Security is said to be so tight that they can't get to the places they need to go. Surely it should be understood that these veterans should have the key to the whole bloody country, at least for a day? On Radio Scotland this morning it was reported that one of the soldiers returning to the site had asked if what they were being subjected to was "freedom". Take Wee Jack f'rinstance. The media was awash with the shame that the leader of the Scottish District Cooncil had plumped to go to a dinner in celebration of St Andrews Golf Club and not France. Then shock, horror - pressure is brought to bear and he decides he'll U-turn and head for France.
His mind was made up. He should have been refused entry and been turned back. The survivors of the landings and their families of all sides shouldn't have to be subjected to arseholes jumping on the bandwagon created around such an event. And who exactly is paying for all this security? That'll be us, the chumps of course. Who usually pays for such a jolly? Not the (in)dignitaries that's for sure. I understand completely how having all these figureheads might make Normandy a target for that group that always gets the credit for doing very bad things but all the more reason for the freeloaders to stay at home. Let freedom reign? Will they hell is like?? Not if there's a bucket of Ferrero Rocher to be guzzled with a swally. If there's a charabang trip that'll get their fizzogs beamed all across the planet then they're in there, like a wee furry critter up a pipe. What does any of this have to do with rock'n'roll you may ask yerself? Well not much but sometimes it becomes necessary to consider the bigger picture. We're sailing in concievably perilous waters in the run-up to November and eggs cannot be unscrambled. The stage management is set and we gotta hold on tight to our hollyhocks and hope that we all make it out the other side. It'll be a bumpy ride with plenty of twisted turns and that's just about the only thing I reckon we can count on at this point. Have a nice day.

Whenever Jan Kooi sez; "hey Jeroen, listen to this", I always oblige, 'cause the man certainly has good taste. His latest discovery are the Manikins, a cool new punk-ish outfit from Sweden...

The new DAVE ALVIN album, ASHGROVE is out any day now on YEP ROC records and early birdlike individuals snaffling up copies of the initial pressing will receive an additional 2 track cd of material completed just after the project was completed. So I guess that'll be you then kiddo?

Sticking with the Joisey theme of the last couple of posts, we had the pleasure of dropping by THE BUBBA MAC SHACK to catch JERRY (THE GEATOR) BLAVAT in action. More about that in due course but Bubba was kind enough to lay some copies of his self-released Blues Band cd's on us and if you're ever in the Somers Point hood then you should toddle on down to Bubba's for a snapshot of American culture best enjoyed in it's own environs. We get all the dodgy US franchaises here but we need a place like the shack to shake in. Accept no imitations.

In a clever SOPRANOS related segue here, I gotta remind you to pledge allegience to LITTLE STEVEN'S UNDERGROUND GARAGE. A veritable last bastion of all the music that matters from then, now and still to come. Do it or he'll slip into Silvio mode and come getcha.

The fifth season finale episode of THE SOPRANOS airs on HBO tomorrow night (Sunday). All bloody heck is about to break loose!

I get kinda nervous when I see a comparison to Thee Headcoats or their ilk in a press release. Y'see, I don't really rate them and figure much of the B. Childish canon to be art rock galumphing in g'rage clothing but our US cousins seem to be able to shake the positive elements about like they did and continue to do with the Beatles so I guess I'm mithering for nowt as usual. Anyway, I mention this because THEE FINE LINES introbumf namechecks that very combo but fear not because, apart from the basic feel of these their tunes having been wrought outta solid concrete, any misgivings are soon shot-blasted clean away. This perfectly formed trio hail from that home of the hits, Springfield, Mo. and thusly are well versed in the big beat that cannae be beat. Their primal stomp is as raggedy and ready as a grizzly's hindquarters and all the better for it. There's a fine line in what's served up as "garage" these days and these youngsters most definitley have it down to keep them well inside the YO zone. They rocks, they rolls and all 14 songs pinch all the right spots to leave that nice bruising you like. Their debut, self titled album is just about to hit the stores and mail order emporiums that matter on a new Austin, TX label by the name of LICORICE TREE. A place where you'll soon be able to shake down a whole crop of wild and woolly recordings. The sound of the underground that deserves to be overground awready.

From the Dictators website: The Master Plan will be the special guests at Little Steven's Underground Garage Battle of the Bands in Long Island on June 23. Ten battle semifinalists appear with very special guests the Master Plan at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, Long Island. Doors open at 8 p.m. More info: www.rockingarage.com.

My pal Jos was rather quick to point out that the mighty Sack-o'-Woes will be playin' this Sunday night here in Utrecht supporting the Ponys at the Tivoli De Helling.

Whilst on the subject of the written word, check out the great ROBBIE FULKS writing about the equally fabulous LUCINDA WILLIAMS. Talk about right on that there button.

The good lord knows there's not a lot of great "actually" printed material around these days but the most recent edition (#10) of ARTHUR is out now and tis of a very high standard. It can be picked up free in hip outlets (incl. Amoeba) throughout the US and Canada and even in the lobby of Ms Laura Cantrell's old apartment. It can also be subscribed to and I'll be danged if it isn't actually worth money.

This quite literally, joss came in...



"Yus, indeedy, Big L and brethren, sweetboy Teenslain and yer ever-lovin' BigKegShandy have found a new fortnightly, late-openin' home for Sonic Reducer, up the road in RayDaviesLand, London N6, cheek-by-jowl with Highgate tube ... Following an aborted push into the West End before Xmess, which saw The Beatings rock a packed Metro like four cheap alarm clocks (or even THE Alarm Clocks!) and yers trulies get a bollocking from Paul 'Blow Up/Off' Tunkin for daring to mix rekkids made before 1977 with those made afterwards (like, duh!), we've decided to return to our spiritual home, and lick our wounds (or nuts?) ... Expect the same mess o'righteous sounds (no Shite Stripes etc!) from the darin' '20s to these decidedly non-naughty noughties, including plenny o'sweaty funk, choice '60s garage, ravin' R&B, salacious soul, hemp-saturated jive, moon-hoppin' JA sounds, high energy rock'n'drool, and all'a the other shit that's fit to spin ... We kick off on July 9th, then go fortnightly after, with special guest DJs, too ... The Sonic Reducer Tag Team is also unbelievably proud to announce that we're DJing at the MC5-DKT gig at the Londinium Astoria on August 25th ... Be
there, or go boil yer 'eads ... Selah! Joss & Joe"

So, it's a Thursday night in Bainsford. EDDIE AND THE HOT RODS were playing the Marquee in London 28 years ago and now they're hitting up The Martell in front of maybe 30 fans who've largely been with them since back in the day. Barrie Masters still has molto much more energy than me and the band delivered a solid set of old chestnuts and some new material that stands up better in the set at the required volume than it does on the new album, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER. Still it's great that they're still rolling and for my money The Hot Rods were the first UK punk combo in what was until then a US sense of the word. They transcended what became known as Pub Rock and veered off on an MC5 type trajectory while The Feelgoods largely stuck to their own finite furrow. These guys were doing it when the Pistols blueprint was still very much on the drawing board. A little known fact then, Eddie and the Hot Rods were on the cover of the pilot issue of NBT in September 1976. I never kept a copy and I don't think any survived but go ahead and prove me wrong if you can.

It's been ages since I last visited the Goner site, so imagine my surprise, when gettin' there once again last night, I suddenly noticed that not only has Eric opened a real live Goner shop in Memphis (2152 Young Avenue, 901-722-0095, Tuesday-Saturday noon-seven, Sunday 1-5), but he also has a one-sided 10" disc available with the first ever recordings by his former band; the mighty Oblivians!. Why didn't anybody tell me?, I mean, f'r chris' sakes, there's a new disc out by what just might 've been the best of the 90s, but the news ain't out!. What's up with that?. A mere $10 plus postage will get you a copy tho', just go to the site and follow the instructions from there (or you can drop by the shop if you're in the area)...

Yeah it's definitley better that there's no real appropriation of The Ramones out there. Nothing brought that home to me like Joe's most recent Birthday Bash. My misgivings are based upon a sadness that Joey never got to see what he meant to people. Not the way he deserved to anyway. No matter what the gesture, The Alkaline Trio do not serve as a fitting memorial to the guy who really had it all. I never rated Mark as a drummer but rather tolerated his position within the band. His spoken word tours do little to underpin the importance of the combo he ended up in. Whilst I enjoyed being at the Bash to celebrate Joe and dug a chunk of the proceedings, I personally didn't reckon that what went down was a fitting memorial to Joey. A wise man told me to remember that even when Joe was alive, some of the bills he put together could be kind of ramshackle. Whilst that offered a perspective, I think the big guy would have dug the Star Spangles/Chesterfield Kings/Romantics triple whammy a night later just a wee bit more. That's what I like to think anyway.

Maybe it's better that there's nobody out there anymore under the Ramones banner. Just try to imagine Marky 'n C-Jay takin' the road, in a desperate attempt to finalize their pension plans, with Ian Assbury or that dork from Pearl Jam doin' duty as Joey...

No need for Mr. J to be apologising for listing Dutch shows as we have folks hungry for the real stuff in all corners of this sorry earth. Tomorrow in Glasgow, Iggy and his Stooges will be appearing at Download and taking the stage at 6.20pm. I won't be there because I can't afford it but General Cruickshank will so hopefully he'll deliver a wee report. The next night he's catching Edwyn Collins with The Alexander Brothers. If you're unfamiliar with the latter then Google the name and prepare to be aghast. Me? I'll be heading up the road to see Eddie and the Hot Rods. Who'da thunk it? You can see just about everybody in 2004, three-fifths of the MC5, a bunch of Stooges, what's left of The Dolls but there's no RAMONES. Pretty sick, eh?
For anybody around the Glesgae area, Mike Watt will be making an appearance at the one and only Monorail Music around 2pm prior to his Stooge duties.

Please excuse these Dutch gig listings, but believe you me these things don't happen too oft'. So if you're in close range of Amsterdam this Friday why not head for the OCCII In'it where the mighty Sack-o'-Woes will appear alongside some lesser talents...

"Where are these people coming from?". A whopping 236 hits so far today, which might not take us out of the no count league (yet!), but we sure as heck appreciate alla you folks patronizing this here log. Muchos gracias for droppin' by !.