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January 3, 2005
The Gears, The Crowd @ The Doll Hut 12-30-04
Text and Photos by
Kevin Hillskemper
If there is ever a Southern California Punk Rock Hall of Fame, both The Gears and The Crowd should get in on the ground floor. It’s the same old story – they could have been contenders, they were ahead of their time, and blah, blah, blah.
Don’t cry for them, Argentina, they’re still alive. Go see them.
The Crowd have been together, more or less, for twenty-five (!) years and keep putting out new albums every few years. Still, it’s unlikely they will ever live up to the impact they made with their monumental contributions to the “Beach Blvd” album.
That seems to be okay with them – their legacy is secure.
I was much impressed by the way they deal with constant requests for the older songs. Guitarist Jim Kaa simply posted the set list on the wall behind him (which in the Doll Hut can be read by everyone in the place) and whenever some knucklehead shouted out for “Modern Machine” or “Trix Are For Kids”, he would point to which song they were playing now and when they would play "Trix". It worked for me. Give the new songs a listen – they’re not bad.
The Gears reunion shows are few and far between. They don’t have to worry about the audience accepting their new material because they don’t play any. Their set consisted of the entire “Rockin’ at Ground Zero” album, the b-side “Hard Rock”, and a cover of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen”. It was beautiful. It’s easy to forget how brilliant their songs are because they are so simple and direct. Poetry cannot possibly express romance like “I want to make out with Trudie tonight, I want to get drunk with Trudie tonight, I want to be with Trudie tonight”.
Excuse me while I get all gushy and sentimental. All of their songs are great and it was nice to hear them played live again.
“Oh Darlin’, it’s come that time again. I’m sorry but I’ve really got to go.”
I just thought of the phrase "You can't buy honesty" but I couldn't find a good place to put it.
On a completely unrelated note - You know that song "Rock and Roll Heaven" by the Righteous Brothers? I don't like it. I think it's terrible.
Posted by Big Kev at January 3, 2005 7:38 PM
