After a few short hours at the Vacation Village (which Chatty described as not quite the worst place they've ever stayed... unlike the Red Roof Inn that was running truckstop whores out of the room next to theirs), Crosstops returned to the Double Down to open for Hollywood darlings, the Flash Express.

Despite the effects of Ass Juice hangovers in 110 degree heat (see Friday, July 27, 2001), the boys were fired up and barreled through a set that opened with The Boob Song, included Ducky's favorite, Holiday In Your Butt, and wrapped up with One Track Mind. And amazingly, I think they managed to play 'em all even faster than the night before. God bless 'em. Oh, and by coincidence, new bass player DUI's family was in the audience, since somebody in the family was having a Vegas wedding.

In between bands, my former KUNV cohort Bazooka Joe was spinning cool retro slabs, so I had to go over and say a quick hello. Imagine my surprise when he looked at me blankly and replied, "You look familiar". OK, I'll admit I've been keeping a low profile a while, but he was at my wedding for christsakes!

Then, much to the delight of all my Los Angeles friends, I finally "rode the Flash Express". Since they decided to play in almost complete darkness I didn't take any photos, but that's quite alright, because then I wasn't distracted while soaking up their raw, honest and frankly, electrifying sound.

If you are still yearning for a better desciption then I'll defer to the pros. LA New Times scribe, Jim Freek, (who tells me Brian now refers to me as "Sin City Girl") has called the trio "trash boogie bandits" and my partner in hellishness, Donna 'Troublepuss" DeChristopher, told me pre-show that they're "a cross between John Spencer Blues Explosion (John is producing their debut album, as a matter of fact), Grand Funk and James Brown". All I can say is go see them if you get a chance, you'll be glad you did.

Poizen Ivy