Last Saturday's
Surf Shindig (www.catch-the-waves.com)
was probably one of the best yet for a
variety of reasons. First of all, this was
the first time all four bands had played as
part of an Unsteady Freddie Surf Shindig at
Otto's. Several of the bands traveled quite
far, The Clams from upper CT, The Mofos from
Ithaca, and the East Coast Tremors all the
way from Cape Cod, MA. Thanks goodness we
had locals, The Outpatients, to represent
our hometown of New York! For many in the
audience this was the first time we had
heard one or more of the bands.
But best of all was the fact that this was
the most professional and organized Surf
Shindig yet. Freddie & Otto's really have
this down to a science and it showed.
The Outpatients stepped on stage right
around 10 pm and kicked surf-butt with a
very well put together set of all instro
classics. They filled the back room of
Otto's with a truckload of twang and reverb.
The technique that these gentlemen play with
is a tribute to the bands and tunes they
cover, such as Link Wray's "Slinky",
the SCOTS' "Skullbucket" and the very blue-sy
music of Fred E. King. Exotica, blues,
western, swing, surf and all wrapped in
reverb. My only complaint is that the set
was too short, but it was time to make room
for The Clams.
And The Clams need lots of room as they are
a FIVE-piece bucket jam-packed with Jimbo,
Brain, Dano, Magic Wanda & Oceana. You gotta
love the Clamdiggers in matching white boots
& ocean-view dresses. They are classic &
classy. The Clams opened with "Wipeout",
which is all it took to bring the folks in
from the bar. The room quickly became filled
with folks dancing in the aisle to "My
Favorite Martian" and Jimbo's bouncing bass
in "Clam Nebula". My favorite tune of the
set and the night is the Clams version of "Telstar",
which starts out sweet & dreamy, but the
pace picks up as does Dan-o's playing. The
set closed with "Miserlou", which Tricia
Tarantino promptly dubbed the NESMA national
anthem. I must agree!
I wasn't prepared at all for what happened
next. The Mofos happened, that's the best
way to put it. I should have known when I
saw the Marshall stack belonging to bassist
Eric that we were in for a wild ride. The
crowd packed in, without breathing room and
inches from the stage. I had never seen the
Mofos before. They play all instro with
accompaniment by a interpretive and talented
go-go dancer named Maria. Gary's powerful,
metal-like lead guitar playing drives the
audience to the edge of a cliff and dares
them to jump. It was a mix of Sabbath,
Zeppelin, and surf. And Matt never missed a
beat on the house kit. When their set was
over I think the whole room felt as if they
had run a marathon, so it was off to the bar
for refreshments while we waited for the
last band, The East Coast Tremors.
The East Coast Tremors are a talented and
generous band. I don't ever recall a band
offering to give their CD away to an entire
audience before, but that's what the ECT did
at the end of their set on Saturday night.
(Actually, I am listening to it right now.)
The ECT line up - Dave: rhythm & lead;
Jared: also rhythm & lead; Jeff: bass; and
Lee: drums. There is a 5th ECT who couldn't
make it, Chris: organ & percussion. But if
you were lucky & smart enough to stay for
the last band you are probably listening to
them right now too. The ECT is a clean
sounding trad surf band with two lead &
rhythm guitarists that play off one another
and routinely change places, even during
the songs. They are a finely-tuned surf
machine. The music ranged from the
Latin-lovely "Chupa Cabra" to gypsy-ethno
surf. However, it was all hard-hitting
without being skull-splitting. Pity they
hail from Cape Cod. I guess we all better
take a road trip to see them, like they just
did for us. (Think I'll play the CD again!).
Well, this brings me to the end of the
Unsteady Freddie Surf Shindig Numero Dos. I
eagerly await the rest of the year. Te amo
my amigos & amigas. Hasta luego!
