There is Still Fire in the Disco

Electric Six; The Crimea, Outrageous Cherry, Peelander-Z
@Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY – September 30, 2005

The first time I saw Electric Six it was in Philadelphia’s little bitty Balcony, which couldn’t have held more than 30 people and the band was great fun. Now in a venue more fit for their sound, the Six rocked even harder and Dick Valentine grooved like the New York-livin’ boy he’s become (he’s got a new song in his arsenal, a song emphasizing the music connection between Detroit and New York…he knows the score). Electric Six is a band meant to be seen in a large hall on a weekend night and they proved it this night. Playing all the better tracks off “Senor Smoke”, and delivering all the goods from “Fire” (except Electric Demons in Love I think but I did get quite drunk), as Valentine still does his calisthenics, and insane-nerd looks and waving at people not there, it could not have been a more complete night. I particularly liked Dick’s strip down from nice suit to boxers to play “Jimmy Carter” (and the only time he’s playing an instrument) in the middle of “Improper Dancing”. But Dick’s (or Tyler Spencer’s, if you wanna get like that) strongest suit isn’t the antics or the ability to write stupid lyrics and get away with it. It’s his voice. He sounds as smooth, slick, and alive as he does on his records. A deep bass-y grumble that is polished and full of Satanic groove, it’s a voice unlike any other.
Electric Six doesn’t play here enough. But would it ever be enough?

Penultimate act The Crimea were a Coldplay-ish type deal that were inappropriate for the night and weren’t even that good. One song had good use of the harmonica, the rest was all blah.
Outrageous Cherry, fellow Detroiters of Electric Six, offered psychedelic 60’s pop, harking back to the Loving Spoonful and their ilk. Some of the songs misfired but some hit the mark, especially their Little Steven-played success “Pretty Girls Go Insane”. If Outrageous Cherry had a problem it’s that they were too nice, sandwiched in on a night of bombastic acts.
Which brings us to the band that started the night off. The ridiculous Peelander-Z. A gimmick to say the least, this Japanese trio (a quartet if you count the prop girl) dresses like Power Rangers out of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, and spend more time hamming it up for the crowd than playing actual music. Coming out to a Japanese disco-children’s theme song, you’d think this band would be perfect for the night. But when they do play, it is boring punk metal hardcore, with songs that barely have any lyrics. How bland was the music? When the band had random people from the crowd come up to play the instruments, I couldn’t tell the difference. After awhile of this madness, I decided to go downstairs to get a drink. When I came back, two of the band members were doing human bowling balls down the middle of the floor. I…uh…yeah.