BLUE CHEER + Witch + The Mongrels @ La Sala Rossa

By K-Man - 06/29/2006

Oh man, when my ex-bandmate Steve 'Lud' Ludvik told me a month ago that he and his new bandmates The Mongrels were going to open up for Blue Cheer, I almost fell over.

Ahh the lovely Sala Rossa: the beers were flowin' as the love was growin'. People were running into each other for the first time in 8-10-15 years. We really came out of the woodwork for this one. Emotions ran deep, no way of getting around that one on this humid June 29th.

Lud (ex-Jack Boot and the Oppressors/Blood Sausage) playing bass and Tricky Woo's Andrew Dickson (guit), Bionic's drummer Tim McGuire, Soft Canyon's drummer Jason and their raucous singer Amy got together a set in just 20 days -- I'm talking from scratch here, people. What better place than the often intimate La Sala Rossa?

The Mongrels wasted no time in getting right down to business -- a recurring theme that night. Their first song " City Livin' " was too heavy for words and warmed up their vintage Ampegs nicely. The bass and guitars were steak-heavy and with two drummers, yeow, a trip on a bombastic level. Nearing the end of their half-hour set, the song "Talk About Me " solidified the band's intent and definitely earned them the following that they undoubtedly attained that night. 70's balls-out rock with a frontwoman that belted it out like I have rarely experienced live before -- look forward to their next show in August and an upcomming release in September.

Next up was Witch featuring J.Mascis (Dinosaur Jr) on the drums. With riffs fueled by an early 70's aesthetic, the band's music was trance-enducing but I must say the singing had like a 60's pop sound à la Strawberry Alarm Clock (you follow?). Quite a strange mix of styles but heavy hooks made them more than bearable.

Tearing a hole out of 1968 (what a year), Blue Cheer rocked it louder and harder than anyone else in San Francisco and most anywhere else in the world for that matter. They are pretty much the fathers of stoner-rock/metal, with their unbelievably loud and fast blues-based fusion. To stand in a room and to hear Dickie Peterson (bass), Paul Whaley (drums)and their latest guitar player Andrew 'Duck' MacDonald was to breakfast with champions and by breakfast, I mean drink booze with.

Ripping into "Out of Focus " from their first mind-blowing album released in '68 Vincebus Eruptum, they established the full attention from the crowd. When that very song's intro broke out with those 12 or so lonely guitar notes, I knew that La Sala Rossa would never be the same. Tone kings from the age of the dinosaurs, they rattled our nose, jaw, guts and toes. The sheer rumbling and relentlessness of the bassline in their song "Doctor Please" alone was worth the ticket price. "I need your painkiller doc, and I need it right away! " wailed Peterson, at which point I bee-lined it for the bar for a little painkiller of my own... yup, you know me all too well, my ol' friend Wild Turkey (and Marie-Lynne, you pour a mean drink, babe).

Fan favorites like the Eddie Cochrane classic "Summertime Blues" and "Babylon" (both from their second release '69 Outsideinside) as well as a tribute to their old friend Jim Morrison, "Roadhouse Blues", were played flawlessly.

These 60-year-old plus guys have been rocking the very fringe of our society for almost 40 years, from the free-spirited rock festivals of the late 60's and 70's to biker rallies to bars in Hamburg, Germany's infamous Reeperbahn district. Recording their shows is encouraged -- how cool is that? A quote from their song "Gypsy Ball" sums up the evening well: "lost in a haze of liquid smoke/I thought my brains were gonna choke/holding the sights I could not tell/under gypsy wizards spell". Word bitches!

[Tune in to "Beyond That Graveyard III" every Friday from 9:00pm to Midnight.]