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Who: The Troubadours, The Madeira, (Most of) The Volcanos
What: Killer Night of British Instros and Surf
Where: Zanies Too, Indianapolis Indiana USA
When: Saturday, June 5th, 2004
This is very long. Sorry. Hey, I love this stuff....and being from the
midwest I don't get to see a lot of surf shows. So these are big deals to
me.
First up were THE TROUBADOURS. This is a Shadows tribute band featuring Ivan
Pongracics Sr & Jr (rhythm & lead, respectively), Dane on drums, and new
bass player Scott. In case you didn't know, Ivan Jr was in the highly
regarded (and missed) band The Space Cossacks. It's hard to believe, but
this was the 4th time I have seen this band in 3 years. If you are only
barely familiar with The Shadows, these guys will make you a hardcore fan (I
was in this camp). With white shirts, black ties, and matching black Fender
guitars (all with white pearloid pickguards) these guys put on a great, high
energy set of Shadows classics. Their song choices were a bit more uptempo
than the ones played at last summers Exotica show in Chicago (probably
because they were being more "exotic" then :), and included a wide range of
styles the Shadows were known for. They opened with "Man of Mystery" and
played many more, the ones I remember included "FBI", "Frightened City",
"Apache", "Shindig", and "Little B" (complete with very cool extended drum
solo with the other band members joining in on various percussion
instruments). They also played 2 of my favorites: "Temptation" and
"Gonzales" (that was me yelling on that one). For me, this was an excellent
set and I really enjoyed it. This was the first time I had seen them with
Scott, and he is very good, and spent a lot of time being very animated and
seemingly trying to crack up Ivan Sr, who rarely shows any emotion, as he
has to concentrate very hard on nailing down those impossible Bruce Welch
rhythm guitar parts. I think it worked once or twice though. As always, the
musicianship was just impecabble, it was a joy to watch. The band seemed to
be having a great time despite the fact I think the sound guys were screwing
around. Sometimes you could hear Ivan Sr and sometimes not. Oh yeah, they
played a fantastic version of "Sleepwalk", dedicated to the Pongracic's
ailing family dog. This really raised the hair on the back of my neck. Ivan
Jr really nailed those lead lines and made it sound like he really was
playing a lap steel guitar. Let's see, gear...Dane had a green (?) sparkle
Yamaha kit, Scott some kind of Ampeg head and a cab I didn't recognize, and
the Pongracics had Vox AC30's of course. Guitars were Tele for Ivan Sr,
P-Bass for Scott, and Strat for Ivan Jr. All too soon, they played their
last song, with Ivan Jr announcing: "...next up, a new surf band called The
Madeira, good luck to them, and then from Detroit, The Volcanos". Fantastic
job guys!
Next up, the very first live show from THE MADEIRA. These guys looked
familiar! Ivan Jr, Dane, and Scott returned to the stage along with Patrick
(aka Commander 007 from Destination: Earth! on rhythm guitar). Actually I am
getting ahead of myself. First Ivan appeared on the stage to start the slow
and dreamy opening to "Sandstorm" (an original); and one by one the other
guys filed on just in time to kick the song into very high gear. This new
song is along the lines of a modern, Slacktone-ish surf sound. It totally
smoked and blew everyone away. This was followed by Dick Dale's "The
Victor", this time with rhythm guitar and ALL the guitar parts (take notes
please DD). Incredible! And right after this they went into The Atlantics
"Express to Bagdad". Unbelievable. Pausing here to take a breath, one of the
drones from the crack staff of Zanies Too asked them to turn down. Now I
really don't believe they were any louder than The Troubadours, its just
that they played with so much energy and abandon that their wall of sound
was all too much for the bartender. Unfortunately I think only Ivan turned
down, so he was a little hard to hear at certain points during the rest of
the set. But who can blame him, I think Ivan is going to have to get a
Showman (note to the uninitiated: a very LOUD amp) for the Madeira, because
his rhythm section is just totally ON FIRE. Scott and Dane are just madmen,
and Patrick really made the show for me. I have seen him in D:E! 3 times as
the only guitarist in that band, but this was a fantastic new side to him.
He really brought a lot to the table, and was just NAILING those fast and
furious rhythm guitar parts that the Cossacks and Atlantics tunes required.
I thought only Ivan Sr and Pete Townshend could play like Bruce Welch, but
add Patrick to that list. This was also the first time I had seen a bass
player trem pick! Very cool! Anyway, I think Dane said it best after their
set: "Ivan had 4 years of pent up surf aggression to get out". It was true.
I only got to see a sliver of Ivan in Strato-Cossack mode when he jammed
with the Nebulas and then the Cocktail Preachers within the last year. But
here he was in full force, tearing it up! That guy can play! I was really
impressed with his work on the Paco De Lucia song "Almoraima" and the Space
Cossacks covers they played ("Tsar Wars", "Transatlantic Orbit", and "Planet
of The Apes"). I was just slack jawed when they played The Atlantics "War of
The Worlds" (complete with bird whistles), the Treblespankers "Dilmohammed"
(complete with reverb crashes), and Ritchie Podolor's "The Quiet Surf"
(complete with dead-on Hal Blaine-ish drumming and perfect rhythm guitar
work matching the original). I just never thought I would hear these songs
(and the Cossacks tunes) in a live setting. Thank you, The Madeira, for
bringing them to life. Patrick, again, really made the Cossacks tunes rock.
Oh yeah, they did a spot on version of The Surf Coaster's Intruder (complete
with the acoustic opening part - played electric). There were two other
originals, "The Caliph", which is a very martial, evil sounding double
picker with a thundering chorus (you can picture Sauron's army marching to
this), and "Cordoba". Another thrill for me was hearing The Atlantics
"Giant". Man, I was just happier than ever. I think the surf scene really
needs this band to shake things up a bit. If you like mysterious, melodic,
and hammer heavy surf, trad but modern at the same time (does that make
sense?) this is the band to watch. I also must add I was really enjoying
watching Dane play...there wasn't a lot of the standard surf "2 on the 2"
beat going on (don't get me wrong, I love that to DEATH), but his style was
perfect for this sound. Very varied and well done. (I think he's a Dusty
Watson disciple too...he said he would have his child if he could -
ha-ha!!).
I consider myself very lucky, as I got to see 2 shows in the first USA tour
by The Surf Coasters, and now I saw the first gig of The Madeira. These are
historical events in the modern surf world, IMHO. I believe these guys have
the chops and power to match the 'Coasters, although they aren't quite as
polished yet. (Don't take that the wrong way, the Surf Coasters were THE
most polished surf band I have ever seen). But just give them a few more
gigs. I am sure great things are in store for this band!
Finally it was time for Detroit's "THE VOLCANOS". These guys are one of my
favorites of the 90's era surf bands, and I am also very lucky (and amazed)
that this was the 3rd time I have seen them. These guys don't get talked
about enough on the email lists. Please do yourself a favor and buy their
stuff; "Finish Line Fever" and "Surf Quake" are great CD's. Unfortunately,
their bass player had something come up right before the gig and he couldn't
make it. Ouch. One of the appeals of seeing the Volcanos live is that
guitarists Rick and Chris trade leads in mid song, it is very exciting to
watch. Well the Volcanos made the best of a bad situation, and rather than
cancel, they soldiered on. I think they pulled it off. If you hadn't seen
them before you would not have missed anything. Chris took up bass duty that
night (on a beautiful blue Mosrite bass), with Bill on drums and Rick on
guitar (white Jazzmaster). Rick was playing through a reverb unit into a
black face Super Reverb and Chris had by his own account "a piece of crap
solid state job" for a bass rig. Hey it sounded good to me. Chris is a
natural on bass, and in fact plays bass in some of the bands that he and
Rick are in together (the horror-punk band 3D-Invisibles comes to mind).
They had worked up a slightly non-standard Volcanos set to account for only
one guitar. However, on many songs, Chris did in fact play his lead parts on
the bass! And even double picked! He augmented this by stepping on a bass
fuzz pedal for an extra kick. Rick, as always, is an amazing guitar player
(and songwriter) and this was in full force. Highlights for me included "Pit
Stop", "Pompeii", and "Surfin' St Helens". Oh yea, I finally got to hear
"Beatnik Bandit" which always inspires me to jump around like an idiot. They
also played several brand new tunes, and wow, they sounded great, especially
"Head On"! I don't know if they have immediate plans to record them. (But
the good news is that their spaghetti western band The Hellbenders will
finally release a CD through Double Crown. Look for it soon). Rick sang
several vocal tunes including The "Devil Driver" (Astronauts), "Where It's
Happening", and "7 Days of Crying", and "Boss Baracuda". In the past I had a
thing against vocals, but maybe I am lightening up, because I really enjoyed
these as well...very fun songs. My wife and I felt kinda bad for these guys,
as they had driven down from Detroit, in missing man formation even, and by
this time most of the crowd had left. To top it off, the sound guys were
really playing havoc with them, as Rick could not hear himself sing at all,
and Chris broke a bass string at one point. Still, these guys are pros in my
book and put on a very enjoyable set. I highly recommend you support them
and check them out. Again, they are one of my favorite bands, and super
SUPER nice guys to boot. I asked Rick for their set list (yes I am a nerd)
and here it is:
The Last Wave
Custom Cruiser
Mount Erebus
Where It's Happening
San Andreas Fault
Malibu Mood
Head On
7 Days of Crying
Frostbite
Pit Stop
Half Moon Bay
Devil Driver
Beatnik Bandit
Bikini Sunset
Surfin' St Helens
Boss Barracuda
Pompeii
Open Road
Wildman
Side-Swipe
Whew. On top of all that, I had just as much fun talking to the band members
and meeting the few fellow list members who came. In no particular order, I
have very fond memories of talking to Chris and Rick of The Volcanos about
the band's history and their gear (of course). I also got to see Larry "Moon
Dawg" White again, and had a great time talking to him about the early days
of Man or Astro-Man? and him seeing the Penetrators a dozen or so times. He
also told us how he put together the Morricone comp "For a Few Guitars
More". And Larry N drove down from Chicago, nice to meet you Larry! As
always, it was great talking to Ivan (someday we will have to meet in a
non-gig situation so we can talk for more than 15 minutes!). Dane, Scott,
and Ivan all told some funny stories about their recent trip to see Dick
Dale and meeting Dusty and Sam. And I cannot forget Dick Messick and his
wife Jill from Massachusetts! You guys rawk! We had dinner before the show
and shared a rental car. You meet the best people at these gigs, and the
camaraderie was very high. At work when I talk about my passion for surf
music I get a polite smile at best. But here everyone is equally into it, it
was so cool. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SURF BANDS! And if you don't have any (like
me) make a trip or two a year. It's worth it!
I also have to add that as a basement guitar player with dreams of playing
out some day, seeing all of these bands is quite devastating to the ego. I
have got A LOT of practicing to do. There was so much talent in that place
(and I'm not talking about the people inexplicably playing pool or darts in
the next room). However, these guys all inspired the HELL out of me.
THANK-YOU!
Thanks everyone for the great time. My wife Shari got lots of pictures and
some video clips. We'll be sorting them out and putting them up on in the next week or two. (Unfortunately the
Volcanos were wearing black and the lights were turned way down low for
their set, so I am not sure their videos turned out. We'll see what we can
do however.)
BN
--- In , "Brian Neal" <bneal@i...> wrote:
> Who: The Troubadours, The Madeira, (Most of) The Volcanos
> What: Killer Night of British Instros and Surf
> Where: Zanies Too, Indianapolis Indiana USA
> When: Saturday, June 5th, 2004
>
> This is very long. Sorry. Hey, I love this stuff....
With time and practice I'm sure that Brian will be playing with the
best of them, but I know I'll never compete with his show reviews -
who needs video or audio, I can relive the show just by reading it! I
really like the Volcanos and have both of their CDs but they played a
couple of songs I didn't recognize - nice to see the playlist.
I want to thank Madeira for playing some Space Cossacks' material.
The Space Cossacks are one of my favorite 90s bands and they, along
with the Huntington Cads and Satan's Pilgrims, are the main reason I
started buying vinyl again, in order to get stuff not available on
CD. I have no problem with Madeira filling out their shows with SC
songs!
> -----Original Message-----
> From: larry8421
> ...
> I really like the Volcanos and have both of their CDs but they played a
> couple of songs I didn't recognize - nice to see the playlist.
Thanks Larry! I think the Volcanos played several unrecorded "new" songs.
They did sound great to me as well. Here's hoping that they release them
soon.
The videos we took are very dark, but some of them turned out quite well.
Haven't had a chance to go over the photos yet. I'll post a note when I get
them uploaded.
Nice to meet you, BTW. It's always cool to put faces to the Yahoo screen
names...
Thanks,
BN
