Richard’s friend Ron Reyes came down from Vancouver to play a show with his band Piggy last week at our favorite rock club, Alex’s Bar in Long Beach, and invited us to open the night! We saw The Dictators and The Pagans there recently and have been talking about trying to get on a bill there, so yay.
Richard introduced us as the “Fabulous Fuck You Fame Whore Review”, which I think is a good catch phrase for us with the range of songs we’ve got going these days, and getting Joe Bear up to play sax – you can’t call yourself a review without a horn section….and guest star singers too – we had Mike Hudson singing “All Shot Down” and “Turn Down The Lights.” I think our crammed in rehearsals paid off – Johnny Dzubak & Eric Schrader killed it on guitar and bass, and of course keeping it all together, the Mighty Matteucci who doesn’t have an off switch. Richard wore his purple boa, played like a demon, or maybe the Dark Lord? And of course cut a song out of the set.
Piggy are a finely-tuned onslaught of punk rock and rock and roll, with songs that weave in some seriously killer riffs and melodies. They’re so fun to watch because they’ve got so much going on visually, and the tunes are way beyond hardcore. Piggy are: Ron Reyes on guitar and vocals, Ange Trash on lead vocals, LisaFurr on bass, Gnash Rambler on guitar and Craig McKimm on drums.
What we didn’t know was that Piggy are the best house guests ever. Ange and Lisa left Violet a swirly candy collection for letting them stay in her bed, and they did dishes more often than R.d. Cane, who incidentally, directed an excellent Piggy video which is up at the Piggy Facebook page. You’re welcome back anytime, Piggy.
Headlining that night was the Black Flag tribute band, Black Fag. I knew I would love Black Fag because I love schtick rock and cover bands and they’re both! But they really blew me away.
The singer, Liberace Morris, is an absolute powerhouse of musical theater and punk rock vocals with a sense of comic timing that had my eyes glued to the stage with my jaw on the floor. Who are these scene-mocking rock monsters with light-up cocktail glasses, men in drag and the ability to segué from a Grease soundtrack staple into a face-ripping version of a punk rock classic? Well, I can tell you: my favorite new band, Black Fag. The other band members are Greg Streisand, Cher Dykeowski, Robo Simmons, Bugger, Raymond Pettiboner and Joe CarGucci.
Here are a few videos to show you what I’m talking about. This one dramatizes a fake reunion with Greg Ginn and Keith Morris of Black Flag who had gone their separate ways – using “Summer Lovin'” as the heartfelt exposé, then ripping into “Don’t Care.”
Then of course Ron Reyes got up and sang as “Rhonda Reyes!” I believe Ron is the first actual member of Black Flag to get on stage with Black Fag.
And here, the incredibly inspired B52s intro to perhaps one of Black Flag’s most famous songs, Six Pack.
It was a full-service guest hosting facility when Piggy came to stay. Here’s Richard’s Coblerette repairing Ange’s leather boots.
Jackson says, ‘Y’all come back now!’
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