Supersuckers Zeke the Murder City Devils Hai Karate

@ the Belly Up - Solana Beach, CA 3/13/99

Let's go to a Rock-n-Roll show, shall we? Let's find the greasiest, dirt in the gears and blood on the grill rack SoCal has to offer this fine night. Where shall we look? Hollywood's Sunset strip? - Naw...too far away and traffic's a bitch. Orange County? Not sportin' the right colors to enter that hood my friends. How about Solana Beach? - near Del Mar and Cardiff by the Sea? (downtown in the designer district, of course!) Yea - normally I might respond with a "Great. Have another" look like you just did, but believe it or not, the normally ultra-conservative, middle-aged and upper-incomed clientele that normally gathers at the Belly Up Tavern was treated to a rock-n-roll monstrosity line-up of Seattle's grittiest exports to date.

I respect the venue for embracing some good old fashioned rip'em-up type rock-n-roll courtesy of "The Murder City Devils" (new breed of SubPop coolness), along with the musical equivalent of meth-amphetamine "Zeke" (Epitaph) and hyper-rock legends "the Supersuckers" (also brought to you by SubPop). Usually catering to bands that make older people dance around with big stupid smiles on their faces, I was curious to see how the venue and crowd dealt with tonight's scheduled onslaught.

I arrived in Solana Beach around 7:00 to track down the Murder City Devils for a pre-show interview. I made it to the first light before having a county sheriff pull up behind my car. FUCK! My plates are expired and I know it. He's not going to turn on his lights...he's not going to turn on his lights...he not going to - FUCK! Long story short...(and an even longer wait - sitting there whilst lights flash in your review waiting for the verdict of how hard the cop is going to fuck you is almost worse than the fine) he let me go with a $10 fix-it ticket since my insurance and license were in order. He was rather pleasant after the fact. What a buzz kill.

After shaking off that vibe (took some serious mindset re-adjusting), we tracked down Gabe - tour manager and official 6th member of Murder City Devils. Very accommodating and helpful, he introduced me to Derek and Spencer who were just finishing their sound check. They looked out of place in the wood and brass decor of the Belly Up.

I got to sit down with singer Spencer Moody, guitarist Nate Manny, drummer Coady Willis and newly added Leslie Hardy for the Farfisa organ textures. (See MCD interview elsewhere in this issue) We opted for a quick burger and beer down the road from the Belly Up before the show and got to witness that joke of a fight between Holyfield and Lewis. It went 12 dull rounds - mostly with Lewis smacking Holyfield around like a bitch - before coming to a decision. The American judge gave the fight to Holyfield (come on!) - the South African judge gave it to Lewis (which was just) - and the British judge gave the fight a draw. Which means Holyfield retained his title. What a joke. Even the announcers (and I quote) spoke of the judgment as "Fraudulent". Sports can be so bullshit and I think that's why I gravitate more towards music and art.

So back to the music... Hai Karate was mid-set as we got back to the Belly Up. The crowd looked about as confused as we did. Although not untalented, they played a sort of rock-n-roll that gave a nod to Elvis in the singers annunciation and delivery. They were kind of unenergetic, the rhythm guitarist just sort of stood there with this stupid grin on his face and we patiently waited for them to finish their set.

By the time the Murder City Devils strolled their black on black presence on stage (except for Spencer who was sporting a more "I work in the mail-room" look), the crowd had started to gather around the stage and I noticed a good amount of greasers, rockers and Betty-Page disciples had filtered in to fill up the floor. The announcer came over the PA "Welcome to the Belly Up. We'd like to remind you that crossing the barrier (big 4 foot steel barrier between band and crowd) or stage diving of any kind will NOT be permitted. Anyone caught crossing the barrier or stage diving will be removed immediately. For those people on the floor, we'd like to remind you to be courteous of those around you that want to just check out the show". Enter Spencer Moody of MCD "In other words - nobody have any fun!". Speak it Spencer!

Not wasting anytime, MCD tore into "B.Officer" off their vinyl release "3 Natural Sixes". They exploded with their wheels running, reminding me of those rip-cord cars we used to play with as kids...slide in the rip cord...get a good grip...and PULL! - and watch it smash into every wall before releasing all that pent up energy. The Murder City Devils are a invigorating dose of rock-n-roll paying homage (but not in any way cloning) the attitude held by bands like Iggy Pop & the Stooges. Their whole thing is rock. The MCD brand smells of axle grease, and beer, and truck stops, and that smell one gets from sleeping more in a van than a bed. And most impressive of all is the attitude they boast while playing it.

Spencer Moody was a pistol of attitude and motion, continually berating and demeaning the crowd with taunts like "We've played all over this country...and by far...you are the most BORING people we've ever played for!". The floor was appreciative but the other 3/4 of the venue just kind of stood and stared at the Murder City Devils brand of creepy dirty rock. They did keep the crowds attention, if not capturing all their approvals. Both MCD guitarists know how to rock both physically and musically with lots of jumps, sways and rock-star posturing and bassist Derek managed to launch his 6'+ frame into the air multiple times between his wide-stepped staggers. Derek also had words for some of the patrons tonight "You people in those back seats - yea - you got the good seats!" (said with mock-sincerity). At least the MCD didn't let their distaste for the lackluster crowd hold back their performance for the respectable amount of fans that were clearly enjoying their set.

The Murder City Devils hopped back and forth between their debut full length "The Murder City Devils" and their second and most recent "Empty Bottles Broken Hearts" with the newer material getting more recognition with the fans up front. During one of Spencer's more animated moments, he left the stage while singing a verse and started messing with some poor guy that just happened to be standing off the side of the stage. For the most part, Spencer just sort of howled in his face but I think he started kind of poking the guy and my friend said he saw Spencer actually grab the guys package (kind of in an attempt to get a rise out of him) before jumping back up stage leaving a confused and upset listener standing there dumbfounded.

One of the more dramatic moments came during "Cradle to the Grave" when the middle break finds Spencer extolling the self-exposing lines of "When your sleeping in the truck stops...when you're living in the parking lots...(enter Gabe onto stage and pouring lighter fluid on Coady's cymbals)....It's hard to pull...It's hard to pull yourself up....(light cymbals ablaze)...when your down this....LOWWWWWWW!" (smash cymbals and sending large "ball" of flame spewing off them). Quite dramatic (fire is always cool, I don't care what that hack from the OC weekly says - "so Kiss" - indeed).

They ended their set with "18 Wheels" (a personal fav) with the cool lines of "I never wanted you / to be a sailor's girl / to be a trucker's wife / to be left behind!" and worked it expertly with it's subtle texture of Farfisa organ (courtesy of Ms. Hardy) which adds that creepy urgency helping to define the Murder City Devils approach. Overall, a rocking set. Spencer trades some of his vocal clarity for stage presence (sometimes sticking the whole mike in his mouth and howling muffled/stuffed screams) so his vocals aren't as true as on the disk, but I'll take live energy over technical proficiency any day.

They left the stage to appreciative applause by the faithful floor (but wasn't quite as loud as the applause that answered their announcement of "one more song then we're done"). Not your fault Devils. Personally, I enjoyed their set so much, I'm going to the Casbah two days later and pay to see them again.

Next was the drug disguised as a band known as "Zeke". I warned my friend in the set change between Murder City Devils and Zeke that "if the crowd wasn't too thrilled with MCD, they are going to fucking hate "Zeke". For the uninitiated, Zeke are an Epitaph punk band that play a no-bullshit, bullet out of hell type punk that would just as soon knock you down rather than rock you out. The announcer again went into the no stage diving spiel as Zeke wandered on stage. "We already hate this place" was one of the first verbal addresses the crowd received from Zeke. Then BLAM, they smacked the crowd with some of their blisteringly fast but precisely executed songs about drugs, sex, drugs and general mayhem.

I am a relatively new convert to the school of Zeke so I was only familiar with their latest "Kicked in the Teeth", but the now crowded floor knew what they wanted with most every space between songs finding shouts of various Zeke songs titles being offered from enthusiastic fans. The Zeke drummer has an interesting drum kit, sans toms. Basically a kick, snare and some cymbals (and maybe a floor tom). And much like his bandmates, was quick with the middle finger.

Zeke boasts a dual guitar attack that basically follows in each others footsteps at blinding punk speeds while the singer screams intensely (looking like a junkie Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo). In an attempt to get better picks, I ended up next to who I would later find out was a bartender at the infamous Casbah in San Diego. I forget her name, but she was a rabid example of a Zeke fan and kept me rocking out to their set just by the contact buzz of her energy (and repeatedly bouncing into me). She kept shouting "Mainline" which Zeke played about halfway through their set. Zeke, much like MCD, were very dissatisfied with their environment and spit a lot, but played a great set none-the-less. I'm glad the bands level of professionalism allowed them to deliver to the people who were there to see these bands (the Belly Up is one of those places where people will pay $10 to get in and have no idea who is playing).

Zeke sped through a fairly long set (well long considering the average Zeke song is about 2 minutes) and contrary to my predictions, seemed to rock a larger portion of the attendees. I think most were probably too dumbfounded to offer any resistance and didn't know what to think of such hyper-light-speed rock-n-roll mixed with taunts and spit from the band.

By the time tonight's headliners, the Supersuckers, took the stage, the venue was pretty much filled to capacity. Personally, I was not too familiar with the Supersuckers aside from the raves I've heard from those who were. I was told to expect a country-fied rock sort of thing. I guess they have a dual persona of rock/country band because they released a sort of country album and depending on which show you catch, you might see either entity. Rock is what the Supersuckers were all about tonight. The bassplayer/singer was in all black sporting the trade-mark cowboy hat and "rock-guy" shades that he would go into a big production about every time he took them off (he needed a drum roll to put them back on and turn into "rock-guy").

The Supersuckers have two guitarists who both sing decent back-up so the vocal presence is pretty large. Style-wise - it falls squarely into "rock", with little bits of a southern sensibility, rockin' guitar jamming and a penchant for devil imagery. "Born with a Tail" I can remember singing all the way home - (sung by the whole crowd) "YOU KNOW - I'm in league with Satan - YOU KNOW - That there's no debatin' - I'm on a hell-bound trail....I was born with a tail". These guys were more the Belly Up speed and not quite so aggressive and abrasive. A friendly dance pit even erupted for short spurts within the Supersuckers set. All songs rocked - no sleepers - with one guitarist (who was wearing an original Van Halen 1984 tour T-shirt with style) really ripping out the rock star guitar leads and Ted Nugent-esque posturing.

I wish I had more background, musically speaking, on the Supersuckers because I could tell those that knew what they were hearing were having a blast with it. I just approvingly observed, bounced my head and tapped my toes and snapped a few pics. For not knowing what I was listening to...I enjoyed the hell out of it. The Supersuckers said they would be back around San Diego to the Casbah to employ their country set for a night. I just might have to see the down side to this hepped-up rock unit.

The night was soaked with beer, rock and attitude. All bands (except the openers Hai Karate) rocked justly. The up-tight atmosphere of the Belly Up did nothing to damper performances (and if anything, incited the Murder City Devils and Zeke to take up some extra bad-ass positions). All in attendance who were willing were rocked. Those who didn't were too old to anyway. I now have some new dealers when I need that rock fix. The price is right...and it's always uncut and pure. I'm hooked. (Is there such a thing as rock-n-roll withdrawal? If so...I think the industry as a whole needs to find some rehab - quick!)