They Are All, So Don’t Even Try: NXNE 2008 with Redd Kross
Published on July 30th, 2008 in: Canadian Content, Current Faves, Issues, Music, Reviews |That’s Dave Foley!
My friends, who were sitting in the back of the club, scurried over to tell me Dave Foley was there. Why, I couldn’t guess, but I was glad he had such great taste. He soon took the mic and talked up the next band, Hollerado, in whose video he’d appeared, dressed “only in my underwear.” The Kids In The Hall nerd in me yelped and he caught my eye and thanked me.
Hollerado was great and I found myself dancing involuntarily. Their vocals are unique, a sort of shouted harmony that is incredibly tuneful and reminded me of Camper Van Beethoven. They were goofy and made jokes about stupid things like hairs in the microphone which endeared them to me even more.
Singer and guitarist Menno brought up a beautiful, autographed white Eastwood guitar and rambled a bit about how they were lucky enough to get it from the set of Wayne’s World. He started playing and then Dave Foley rushed the stage and grabbed it, smashing it into bits as we all gaped and laughed and clapped. Was it real or was it a stunt? I’ll probably never know, but it was truly funny. (And I kept a piece of it!)
That Kevin McDonald guy keeps leering at me. I don’t want him to think he’s my friend.
Riding on such a high, I realized that Redd Kross was going to be on that very stage after the next band. I felt a bit sorry for whoever this next band would be, but I figured we were on a roll with the lineup so far.
Photo © Allen Scott
Four guys came onstage, started plugging in their amps, and made me think they’d raided Adam Ant’s closet: gun belts, bandit scarves, spats, and eyeliner. I started worrying. Then a tiny Marlene Dietrich in a red leotard, gloves, tights, and ridiculously-high patent leather platform heels wandered shyly up to the microphone. She was adorable, but the music was less so.
It’s not that Miss Derringer were completely abysmal, but they were too kitschy and not talented enough to overcome that hurdle. The music was emasculated rockabilly trying for the fire of X, but not succeeding. I think they spent all their energy on their outfits. And the creepy guitarist with grey mutton chops looked like a Kevin McDonald character and kept trying to catch my eye. I clapped politely for their efforts, but they were a huge disappointment.
Click to read more on. . .
Danny Echo and Starvin Hungry
Dave Foley, Hollerado, and Miss Derringer
Redd Kross
More on Redd Kross
4 Responses to “They Are All, So Don’t Even Try: NXNE 2008 with Redd Kross”
July 31st, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Starvin’ Hungry has quickly become my all time favorite band and I can’t wait to see these guys get the recognition they deserve. Intelligent, hip-shakin’, dirty punk ‘n’ roll… they got it all! Unfortunately I missed their NXNE performance, but I’ve seen them live a few times and they never disappoint.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I know exactly how you feel. I can honestly say there is nothing else in this world that even comes close to the feeling I get being at a Redd Kross show! I get so excited to the point of feeling physically ill. For a long time I thought it was train sickness cuz most of the RK shows I’d been to had been in NYC which was a short train ride from the Jersey suburbs where I grew up. But then there were other jaunts into the city where this did not happen and I figured I had overcome my illness. That was until I saw RK again, for the first time in over 10 years, this past December in Brooklyn. From the morning of the show, until the second before they hit the stage I could not shake the woozy feeling. I couldn’t eat, couldn’t sit still for one minute, couldn’t think about anything but seeing RK! Once they hit the stage, the sickness was over…I was finally getting my fix! There was no other feeling overcoming me but pure bliss for the remainder of the evening…and several weeks thereafter!
August 1st, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Hi there, kross-eyed! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. “Pure bliss” is a good way to describe the feeling.
And elaine, I agree that Starvin Hungry have some great lyrics to go with their great tunes.
LLM
May 30th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
[…] Echo has been blessed with a great big rock and roll voice. This was apparent when I saw the band live at NXNE 2008: they played their hearts out and even though there were only a handful of people in the crowd at […]
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