February Birthdays 
In spite of having to wake up at 5 am for work the same morning,
I caught the Mermen at Moe's Alley in Santa Cruz last Saturday.
The Mermen played with an intensity rarely seen, and they took
my head clear off. The intensity was un-freakin'-real! Jim ramped
up the feedback, and did things to his guitars like I've never seen
before. I hope that his #2 axe, a blue strat, wasn't thrashed too
bad. He really gave it a nearlyTownshend-esque beating at the
end of "White Trash Raga".
The first set featured Jim and Martyn with Jennifer on bass. This
set was more in the trad Shi-Tones vein, but still way up there in
the intensity department. "Scrambler", and an extended, feedback
drenched "Miserlou" stood out in my mind. But it was all awesome.
The first set consisted of:
Quiet Surf
Deep Ocean, Vast Sea
Ghost Riders in the Sky
Theme from Endless Summer
Apache
Scrambler
Movin'
The Goodbye
Miserlou, and
The good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
The set with Allen Whitman on bass was unbelievable. The
power and intensity was off the chart, still maintaining a
sense of serenity and beauty while managing to simultaneously
peel the paint off the walls. Near telepathic interplay was there
the whole night. Particular favorites for me were an indesribeably
sublime "Intractable Boy", "Blue Xoam", "Varykino Show", "
Obsession for Men" and the most UNREAL "White Trash Raga
/Jam/ Within you Without You/ Feedback Destruction Finale".
2nd set:
Heart With Paper Walls
Varykino Show
Sponge Cookie
Kou Tree
Lonely Road
The Intractable Boy
Raglan
Ocean Beach
Blue Xoam
Drivin' the Cow/extended Jam
Sway
Obsession for Men
With No Definite Future, and
White Trash Raga/Jam/Within You Withou You/Feedback Destruction Finale
As great as the Sept 23, 2006 show at Moe's was, I would have
to rate this one even better. Every song was a gem. The sound
was perfect. And the band was so "ON"... !!! That's gonna be
a tough show to top, but I know the Mermen are up to the task.
Bob
—Bob
