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At the last moment, The Charms, whose Farfisa player is in Russia, are filling in for Caged Heat, whose singer/harmonica player is too sick to play, so it's Charlie's for me. First up are Pearlene, from Kentucky. They start late and play too long, but are otherwise fun: a punky, rockin' three-piece. The guitar tone is pretty muddy, but he's a hell of a player, with a basic, bluesy swagger. The vocals are shouted more than sung, but it's not at all monotonous; he shouts with rhythm, range, and inflection. The drummer is wonderful. A few of their songs actually spread out a bit, meandering almost psychedelically and making me think of The Butthole Surfers.
Since they went over, The Charms have to play a short set. I miss the Farfisa--with no warning for this show, they didn't have time to change the arrangements to make up for its absence, so a few songs sound a little thin. The bass is also way too low. However, all of this means that, for the very first time, I can hear what a great rhythm guitar player Ellie is. Usually, she's barely audible. She does have a bit of technical trouble mid-set, with some connection going intermittent and making a thick, crunchy crackling sound. The great thing is, the music is loud enough to vibrate the connection, and it actually crunches to the rhythm of the song! If they could do it on purpose, I would want them to do it every time.
The Bloody Hollies have the best name I've heard in a while. They're another three-piece, and conceptually similar to Pearlene: they're not very melodic, but they never get boring. They only play with speed and urgency, and barely pause between songs. The singer/guitarists vocal and guitar tones are both gloriously cracked and screaming things. There's not a lot more to say about them, because they're basic. Just loud, fast, sweaty rock.
