If I told you Bo Diddley, Weezer, and the Go-Go’s were performing under the same roof you’d think I’d lost my mind. Well, there’s a long-standing Halloween tradition that allows for the next best thing—Bay Area bands doing costumed cover performances. While in reality, time and space never allowed such an eclectic lineup, it will go down at this year’s Total Trash Halloween Bash for their fifth anniversary party.
This time around the event spans both sides of the Bay for four nights of rock and roll revelry, but wait—there’s an ace in the hole. Yes, the bookers are bringing on The Sonics for two nights. These guys were original garage rockers from Washington State in the 60s that inspired many-a-punk with charged tunes you can shake a tail feather at; “Strychnine”, “The Witch”, and “Have Love, Will Travel” to name a few.
Trashy local celebrities will shine in the grime as this is an event catered to the ‘we know how to party’ demographic. Halloween’s kickoff at Oakland’s Stork Club will have prizes for the best costume. Meanwhile, the loveable, mangy, masked-man Nobunny will serenade us to the boom-chick-a-boom stylings of Bo Diddley. Shannon and The Clams take on Peruvian proto-punks, Los Saicos, Pookie & The Poodlez will do their best impersonation of LA punks, The Germs, Monster Women double up their duties with covers of The Go-Go’s and Blondie, and grungy-country punks Yogurt Brain are set to blow the lid off as Weezer.
But if you’re anything like me and had many-a-couch-jumping-moments in your youth to Weezer’s secondalbum, then you might ask a band member this end all question: “Blue Album” or Pinkerton?
“I'm always going to fall back to Pinkerton,” says Yogurt Brain’s Stephen Oriolo. “The production (specifically the rhythm section) really stepped its game up from the first record. Plus, it has this awesome dichotomy of really perverse lyrics about rejection, revenge, and questionable sexual fantasies set to super anthemic songs that get everyone to sing along—girls and guys. It's like Robert Crumb wrote lyrics for Bon Jovi.”
Well, I never really thought about it so deeply, but obviously Stephen has and I couldn’t agree more. Doesn’t this make you want to break out your old Weezer CDs? Better yet, just go see it live. These performances are always passionate and as Stephen says, the live show will be four diehard fans performing the first two albums. “We ain’t gonna fake the funk.”
EVENT DETAILS
Thurs 10/31: HALLOWEEN PARTEEE!!! featuring NOBUNNY as Bo Diddley, Shannon & the Clams as Los Saicos, Monster Women as the Go-Go's & Blondie, Yogurt Brain as Weezer, and Pookie & the Poodlez as the Germs. Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. 9 p.m., $10, get tickets here.
Friday 11/1: THE SONICS, Phantom Surfers, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Harold Ray Live in Concert, Larry & the Angriest Generation, The Okmoniks. The New Parish, 579 18th St. Oakland. Show starts 7:30 p.m., $35, get tickets here.
Saturday 11/2: THE SONICS, Roy Loney, Dukes of Hamburg, Wounded Lion, Chad & the Meatbodies, The Rantouls, Midnite Snaxxx, S'Lobsters. Rickshaw Stop, 133 Fell St. San Francisco. Doors 7 p.m. $35, get tickets here.
Sunday 11/3: PANGEA, Meat Market, The Pleasure Gallows, The Pets, Primitive Heats, Charlie Megira, YXY, Rock & Roll Adventure Kids. Stork Club, 2330 Telegraph Ave. Oakland. Show starts 5 p.m., $5 advanced, $15 at the door, get tickets here.
