Recently went to see legendary lowbrow trio Messer Chups with my pal /WFMU colleague Spacebrother Greg, the guy I went with to see em last time - 10 years ago. *Gulp.* I hadn't planned on hauling my lazy Valley dude ass all the way down to Long Beach CA, but he said he had tix, so what could I do?
Not much has changed in the intervening decade. Oleg Guitarkin & Zombierella are as close to successors to Lux & Ivy as we're going to get, and their patented mix of surf, sex, rockabilly, and horror is timeless - as befits the undead. Orig from St Petersburg, Russia, Messer Chups have been around for decades, with a discography, including numerous spin-off projects*, that practically rivals The Fall or Guided by Voices (slight exaggeration). They also tour so relentlessly, one wonders if they sleep. But again, being undead probably makes that a moot point.
What's great about surf is that the guitar virtuosity is in the service of havin a good ol' rock n roll party. As opposed to jazz, prog, or the "shredders," where the songs are sometimes mere templates for the guitar pyrotechnics. Oleg can indeed bust strings with the best of em, but the mostly instrumental songs are joyous, upbeat, and over in a few minutes. Surf rock - the fun is baked right in.
Bassist/style icon Zombierella adds occasional vox to break up the relentless instro attack. Like Fred Schneider, she's not exactly a "singer" in the classic sense, but she has style. When she sings "Call Me Zombie," is she asking us to address her in a certain way, or is she asking a zombie to give her a ring sometime? See, I think about stuff.
Greg: "Third time I've seen em, with a different drummer every time!" Tonight's skin-beater had long hair, beard, and answered to "Rasputin."
Unlikely instro surf-style covers are one of the band's specialties. No "Twin Peaks Theme" like last time I saw them, but we got TWO Sinatra covers, and "Love Will Tear Us Apart." I've never known them to play the usual standards, but perhaps saluting the fact that they were visiting the birthplace of surf, they ended with "Miserlou."
openers Christina Jean and the Howlers were fronted by a sexy blonde singer who plays swell garage-abilly. I had already discovered them somehow (Bandcamp, maybe?) and have played em a couple times on my show. Good times. There was another band, but Greg didn't want to stand all night. So we sat in the patio with all the goths, surfers, rockabillies, and punks. I might have been the only one there with no tattoos. Rebel that I am.
*Messer Fur Frau Mueller, The Bonecollectors, The Guitaraculas, Zombierella solo, etc..
