Here's my take. First off, it was damn sad that the place was less than half full. But, it was a Sunday. Still, I would have thought Mooney Suzuki could get closer to filling the place on their own.
I got there a few minutes before The Fleshtones went on. The club was decked out with movies and vintage concert footage screened on the walls on either side of the stage; a big red & white (or yellow) striped curtan in front of the stage (that they closed between bands to do set up); a step down stage in front of the main stage so the band could come down closer to the crowd (though Fleshtones and Mooney each went into the crowd anyway). And Go-Go girls dancing the entire time between sets. It was an efficient program -- only 15 minutes between bands. I thought it was great fun to have the place all decked out. It definitely added a vibe. Alas, with the small audience, there was a certain lack of energy.
The Fleshtones went on at 9:50 and did about a 30 minute set, and yeah, all the same stuff -- which is great. I love that band, and always have a fun time watching them.
Mooney Suzuki came on at 10:30 and played 45 minutes. I can't believe I've never seen them before -- really fun set. The lead singer REALLY needs a new haircut, but the lead guitarist rips it and is great fun to watch. They went well on a bill with the Fleshtones -- Mooney was a little harder to the Fleshtones surf vibe, but both are great, classic rock 'n' roll.
Both bands were hanging out in the audience later, and each said to me excitedly, "have you seen the Zombies before?"
Well, I have, and so wasn't really looking forward to it. In fact, I might have left but my friends were in to it. They're okay, kind of mellow and hippy in comparison to the rest of the bill. And that Colin, he is one freaky bird. With this odd smile all the time. Like Senor Carlos, I'd seen them with Love about a year ago, and Love just smoked them. Pretty much the same thing last night. I left after an hour (12:30), have no idea how much more they played.
Apparently we're getting two more underground shows coming through town. I missed the dates and the bands, but sounded like The Chesterfield Kings in late October... If there are more of these shows, I highly recommend them.