THE Land Of Promise Hotel has the best name for a strip club. It's also an awesome rock venue - where else in Australia can bands play while making use of a fully functional shower and two stripper poles? It was a fitting place to watch an eclectic night of Adelaide rock'n'roll shenanigans last Saturday.
I was in Adelaide to enjoy the 50th birthday celebrations of my good friend and veteran zinester/DJ/lounger kami. He'd got three local bands to put on a show and what a helluva performance they put on. Rough around the edges but never boring.
First up was ROO SHOOTER, two dudes "staring lovingly into each other's eyes" (as kami put it) while assaulting each other and the audience with electric guitar distortion. It was perfectly passable, and made all the more enjoyable by the fact that every song was preceded by the announcement, "This song is for kami." They finished memorably with a distorted version of GOD's My Pal.
I was in Adelaide to enjoy the 50th birthday celebrations of my good friend and veteran zinester/DJ/lounger kami. He'd got three local bands to put on a show and what a helluva performance they put on. Rough around the edges but never boring.
First up was ROO SHOOTER, two dudes "staring lovingly into each other's eyes" (as kami put it) while assaulting each other and the audience with electric guitar distortion. It was perfectly passable, and made all the more enjoyable by the fact that every song was preceded by the announcement, "This song is for kami." They finished memorably with a distorted version of GOD's My Pal.
Next came PICNIC CASKET, which was basically three quarters of legendary Adelaide punk/hardcore band Grudge. I believe this was only their second gig. They did a few originals but mainly stuck with deranged cover versions of a bunch of 70s and 80s tunes, including Stevie Wright's Black Eyed Bruiser (I think). It was some Stevie Wright tune (I was pretty drunk by this stage). Everyone was going nuts and dancing around throughout the gig, including several delightful well-aged sluts and the always-drunk Dick Dale. This set felt like it went on for 90+ minutes, probably because it did. Still, I enjoyed every moment of it.
Firstly, they called the birthday boy over and proceeded to strip for him down to their (women's) underwear. They then did a set of acoustic originals that I don't know the exact names of, but I think two of the titles were There's A Volcano In My Living Room (a sing-along ditty) and I Sold My Little Sister On The Internet. All sung in an annoying, weedy voice by the lead singer who, as an encore, stripped naked and had a shower on-stage. Think Frank Zappa/Captain Beefheart/every annoying performance artist you've ever had the misfortune of seeing and you'd get Isolation Valve. They were BRILLIANT.
As birthday bashes go, this was one of the most memorable I've attended. I think more birthday beanos (and gigs in general) should be held in strip clubs.