The Opera Beggars, Three Mile Island
August 27, 1997 at the USA Cafe

Oh yeah, you know what... I never bothered to write this one, oops... um, Tuesday night, yeah, not the optimal day to go out, but since I had beautiful presents for my Beggar boys we just had to journey over to the USA Cafe. That's about all I can remember. Hey, it's been years, but here's a photo of Three Mile Island.

Anyway, Three Mile Island were supposed to open for us, but their drummer was in a car on his way back from California at showtime. So, we went on first. I got to play my new guitar. That made me happy. The show turned out to be a little "who's who" of the Las Vegas band scene. Members of Copperpot, Linus and Greed were all in attendance. I think they all came by to see if the old farts could still rock. I would have to say we did, even though Mike threw out his hip in the third song and Bryan suffered from some heart palpitations after the set. We kept up the looks, though. The show must go on! In closing, I'll say that it's been a while since we've performed on a weeknight (Mike's wife has the same complaint about him) but it felt good to get out of the house and away from reruns. Gee, I hope Todd taped Melrose.

Linus, Tilton, The Happy Campers
August 21, 1997 at USA Cafe

Well, this show started on time, giving Linus an opportunity to play a full set of their sticks-in-your-head-like-gum-on-your-shoe pure pop songs. The sound was great, the crowd was really in to the music (maybe 'cause school started in just a few more days) and the place was packed, in the all-ages area anyway. Just when I thought think couldn't get much better, the ska band Tilton took the stage. Not only are they incredibly tight (they've only been together for three months) they are witty and amusing. Especially the pedophile song, it was hilarious. They've been playing a lot of house parties, but keep a watch out for these guys, they've definitely got something. Unfortunately, they are also about to lose their bass player. Hopefully, they get a new one really quick. The Happy Campers were the last band and their thrash punk didn't really impress me until they screamed into a cover of Kenny Rogers' The Gambler. A great way to end the show.

Three Mile Island, Linus, Inspector G
August 19, 1997 at USA Cafe

This evening started out OK, we arrived early at the USA Cafe to have some dinner before the bands started. Then Fawn, the bartender, came by our table to chat and mistook Kevin for someone who waxed her eyebrows at the Euphoria salon nearby. Then she proceeded to grab Jen's hair and dislodge it, in all it's fakeness, from her head. A quick trip to the bathroom for a readjust and all seemed well again. (Except I almost passed out from laughing so hard. Jen didn't find it so amusing at the time, however.) But we weren't so lucky. It seems Fawn is friends with someone in the band Johnny Flamehead and as a special treat (torture, actually) she was going to play their new CD for everyone in the bar. Really, incredibly loudly. I have nothing against loud music, as long as it's good. This was not. It's pretty much bad metal with some Nelson-style ballads thrown it here and there.

Finally, Three Mile Island was ready to play. We didn't care what they sounded like as long as it stopped the blasting of what Jen was now referring to as "Johnny Fever and WKRP in Sin-Ci-Crappy". Three Mile Island is a basic punk rock trio, along the lines of Green Day, with hints of Channel 3 and the Potatomen. Linus played a great but unfortunately too short set because the music had to end at midnight and Inspector Gadget was still waiting in the wings. Well, actually they were getting their picture taken with Jen and her new boobs out in the parking lot. I guess 18 year old boys don't have a lot of excitement in their lives, and then to be sooo close to a chick's breasts. Wow. Bryan Haraway, from The Opera Beggars, even ventured outside to have a look. Inspector G has taken the same kind of bass lines that made Primus famous and mixed them with a 311 rappish-funk sound. They even did a cover of Down. The kids (did I mention this was an all-ages arrangement? That means the drinkers are relegated to the back of the room.) loved it. There was even a mosh pit of about 15, to the manager's dismay.

The Opera Beggars (w/ Mark Huff)
August 15, 1997 at The Marker Down

The Opera Beggars played another excellent show, this time at The Marker Down (at least it was the one with a full bar, its sister property, Money Plays, only serves beer and wine). The only possible exception was that Rob's stage mannerisms made him appear to be a flaming homosexual. Three people asked me if he was gay, and then didn't believe me when I replied no, so this is critism is not just based on my opinion. Maybe it was the pristine white outfit. It was also our friend Gobi's birthday so we got really drunk and celebrated his aging process with him. And publicly ridiculed him, but then again, we always do that.

As a bonus here's what Opera Beggar Rob had to say about this show, taken from my secret archives of Rob's Gig Diary...
Hey folks. I'm back. Special thanks to the glamorous Mike Hall for filling in the last gig diary while I was away, trotting the globe.

We played last Friday at The Marker Down with Mark Huff. When we took the stage at midnight, the crowd seemed ready for a little anal injection of rock and roll. We were happy to deliver it to them (good thing Todd brought the Anal Ease). We ripped through about five songs right off the bat. I was brutally beating my guitar and ended up breaking a couple of strings and seriously marring its already ugly finish. Bryan was pounding some borrowed drums from Dennis Ozinski (thanks). Mike took extra vitamin E pills and was riffing like a veritable K.K. Downing on crack. Todd, fresh from his trip to Nebraska, played like a corn-fed All-American boy and I believe at one point, produced an entire, intact cob of corn from his a-hole (maybe I was hallucinating).

Did I mention I was dressed in heavenly white for the show? In between songs, I absolved the crowd of their sins. In attendance was the fabulous Mila, who brought some friends from the press. The Guy at the Bar, who of course was at the bar. Ivy, Kevin and the gang who shouted insults from the back. And was that Michael making out with some chicky-poo right in the middle of our set? Oooo-la-la. And back from the dead Mr. James Mauer was in the audience. We grew up with James. James was an insane little drunkard back in the day. Today, he's an insane, drunken optometrist. Weird.

Anyway, I guess we played close to two hours. Man, was I sweaty when we were done. It gets tiring doing all those clever heavy metal moves a la Don Dokken. Mucho shows coming up. That means mucho gig diary entries. Be prepared. Sayonara.

The Fab
August 8, 1997 at Sunset Station

On Friday night, August 8th, Poizen Ivy had to deliver some flyers for an upcoming Opera Beggars show to Mike Hall and I was more than happy to accompany her to Sunset Station. I, however, had another purpose, to watch and enjoy The Fab (much to Ivy's chagrin - she has some issues with tribute/cover bands). So, in case you didn't know, Mike's other band is a tribute to the Beatles known as, "The Fab".

I was in seventh heaven. We got to the lounge just as they started their final set. The lights came up and it was beautiful, I could smell the polyester from the booth we had in the back of the room. They opened with Come Together, if my beer-soaked memory serves me well, and went on to play all the favorites, mainly from the White Album (my favorite). In between each song they donned their British accents and brought the sixties back to a room filled with screaming teenie boppers (okay, they weren't teenie boppers, they were middle aged women reliving a time when they had a figure and didn't drink so much, but it was still great). Our friends couldn't stand just sitting, so they got up and shook a leg to some song but my brain was totally beer-logged so I really don't remember. It was fast one though. Eventually, they wrapped up their set much to the dismay of the adoring fans and dancers, but I guarantee everyone left with a smile on. Even Poizen Ivy was smiling and happy (I think more so because she had handed off the flyers to Mike and she was finally able to leave). All in all, I really enjoyed The Fab, their stage presence and humor kept the show going even when the well-known hits of an earlier time weren't buzzing around the lounge. If you find yourself at one of the Station properties (by pure desperation, that's all) and you want to enjoy some really fun and musically-talented guys, check out The Fab.

Jimmy "Elvis" LeBeouf
July 13, 1997 at the Double Down Saloon

It's become a ritual of summer out here in the desert, the temperature skyrockets and the Double Down (aka The Happiest Place on Earth), celebrates it's annual Free Beer and Bar-B-Que Drunkfest. And like every other year, there were drunks passed out in the parking lot; Swampy had a lawn chair this year and was out cold with a bottle of Bud clutched in his hand when we arrived at 2:30 pm. And, most dangerous of all, the drunkest and therefore most fearless manned the barbeque (until one of them fell down and smashed his face, and then vomited. Mmmm, hamburger helper. - Jennifah).

The Opera Beggars
July 11, 1997 at The Wet Stop

Due to a scheduling screw-up the other band, Linus, didn't play this show. Many of my friends who missed the Legends show were kinda disappointed because of all the raving I've been doing about them. However, The Opera Beggars more than made up for it. They opened with a kick-ass version of The Beatles Please, Please Me, rolled though a lot of material from their new album, Electromotive, and wrapped up the first set with a splendid cover of Elvis' Love Me (which they haven't done since the Double Down show over a year ago). Playing a second set gave the guys the opportunity to play some old favorites from their first release, [cough.], like Ordinary Boys and Holy Ghost. It was a tremendous show, the best they've played since February. And I wasn't the only one expressing that sentiment. Most importantly, they all seemed to be having fun and it showed. I think the months of performing and practicing have finally caught up with them. Congrats.

As a super special bonus here's what Opera Beggar Mike had to say about this show, taken from my secret archives of Rob's Gig Diary (don't get too confused now)...
Hello there kiddies! Rob is out of town this week on a much deserved tightanus.... er...... hiatus...... er he came down with hepatitis....... no... that's not it. He is on vacation.......

Now vacation is something that ole' Roba-booey doesn't take lightly. He likes to plan them out for five or six years before he goes, but when I told him about the 14 year old prostitutes in a certain Mexican fishing village I know about, he was on a plane quicker than you could say "Hey meeeeesstor! How much for your seeeeessstor?" But that's not important. What is important is that I get this gig diary up before Rob gets back and thinks I forgot about it due to my short term memory loss..............What the hell am I writing anyway......Oh yeah.....Wet Stop. Friday. Now I remember.

The show kicked off at about 11:00 to a packed house. It would have kicked off sooner except I was late and had most of the gear. So as soon as I forced the guys to help me lug 800 pounds of guitar amps up the rickety stairs and get plugged in we were ready to ROCK!!!! (Klause Meine scream.) This was supposed to be our second show with the remarkably young and fresh faced band "Linus" but due to some inexplicable scheduling conflict having nothing whatsoever to do with them, they were out of town and couldn't make it.

So we did something we rarely ever do anymore. We actually played two sets in a row which gave us a chance to play some old favorites like "Ronnie", "Places Like This", "Trickle Down", "Your Momma Blows Goats" and others I can't seem to recall right now. The tables directly in front of us were packed with beautiful scantily clad young ladies. They were drinking heavily and giving us the eye. Or was there something hanging out of my nose again. Our extremely tall and curly pal, Curtis the Turdis, and friend arrived and we commented on his looks, hairstyle, parentage, and sexual orientation until his friend left and he had to walk several blocks to his car. Just good clean fun.

Drunks were reeling about and at one point during a stirring Elvis cover two different couples began ballroom dancing. One person was injured while dipping. Our old pal, Romney, now works at The Wet Stop, and my old pal, Doug, from the Huntridge days works there also. Speaking of old, Sue Hahn was spotted in the crowd. (Just kidding Sue.) Nostalgic isn't it.

As far as the actual playing and singing part of the show went, well you be the judge. For me it was pretty good. The monitors worked for once, my guitar stayed in tune sometimes, fed back most of the time, and was really LOUD! I sweated a lot and drank a little. Next time I think I'll drink a lot and sweat a little.

The Fremonts (w/ The Wayouts)
June 28, 1997 at The Wet Stop

I'm at a loss to try and describe The Fremonts' sound, other than they are very entertaining and quite successful in combining some sort of retro-lounge ambiance with classic hillbilly-country-twang. Except that everytime a relaxed mood settled over the crowd, Rob Ruckus (aka Billy Rob) felt the need to shout "ear" and reduce the crowd to laughter. It should be noted that this show started about an hour after the whole Tyson-makes-an-ass-out-of-himself fight fiasco.

The Opera Beggars, Linus
June 20, 1997 at Legends

Back to Legends again. I just can't seem to stay out of this damned hippy bar. Quite possibly, it's because it's one of the few remaining venues for local bands.

The Opera Beggars played a great set, after a few small technical difficulties. And they were hardly offensive at all.

Then Linus took the stage for the drunk, but highly enthusiastic crowd, and with tremendous energy ripped through their set of hook-filled songs, including Pinto Love, Winnie, Standing, Nonsense of Affection and Song No. 9.

Caleb Lindskoog, John Gibbs, Ryan Wells and Jeff Johnson have been together for about a year and have a 4 song EP available. They are also planning on recording a full length album soon, so keep your eyes peeled for it and for this band. Hopefully they'll be playing more shows with The Opera Beggars.

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
June 18, 1997 at the Hard Rock Hotel Pool

I don't think the Hard Rock planned on this being a successful event. It seemed a little unorganized (I later found out five times as many people showed up as they had planned for), but once we had wormed our way through the building crowd, many of whom were dressed quite dapperly in their suits and fedoras dispite the 100 degree weather, we noticed Jennifah beckoning us from high above the crowd. She had opted for a poolside cabana, which I highly recommend, especially since these swing pool parties are continuing all summer and the temperature's just gonna keep on rising. We had a nice side view of BBVD and the swelling dance floor. Plus, the cabana had a mist system to keep us cool, and best of all, cocktail service. BBVD sounded great, and we kept knocking back those martinis.

Jimmy "Elvis" LeBeouf
May 17, 1997 at Goes West

What would Vegas be without Elvis impersonators? This night featured not just Jimmy, my favorite Elvis, I'll even forgive him for sweating on me, but a special appearance by Steve, yes, another Elvis impersonator. You can always tell by the sideburns. Jimmy performs with an off-handed sense of humor that adds his own style to each song and yet he still is Elvis. Plus, he's a really nice guy. He performs every Saturday from 10 pm until 2 am and it's free. Just remember to tip.

Tippy Elvis - Enigma Cafe's 4th Anniversary Party
May 14, 1997 at the Enigma Garden Cafe

It was great to see the members of Tippy Elvis on stage again. The crowd seemed in fine spirits as they tucked dollar bills into Dayvid Figler's pants. But then doesn't everything sound happier with a tuba? We arrived late, so I'm sure we missed the classic Tippy tunes like Tattoo, Bad Mayonnaise and Punk Rock Tuba. However, we were in time for a wonderfully weird rendition of The Partridge Family's I Think I Love You and the crowd scream-along song Jerk. The only downside was Dave's tortured new guitar skills; I'm still trying to stop the ringing in my ears.

Linus
April 5, 1997 at Crash Corrigan's

Linus is another band from Boulder City, and yes, much like my Beggar boys, they're really good! I heard them for the first time performing live on Dre's Rock Avenue show on KUNV. Yeah, I still listen once in a while! Their songs have a quirky innocence and simplicity that makes people compare them to Weezer, but there seems to be more to this band than that. They don't have a lot of stage presence yet, but they're a young band and they have a lot of energy.

The Rev. Horton Heat (w/ The Ruffnecks)
March 30, 1997 at the Huntridge Theatre

My first Reverend show. This man, and the rest of the band for that matter, is absolutely amazing. It was also the best sounding show I've seen at the Huntridge in a long time. What else is there to say - when you're great, you're great!

The Opera Beggars (w/ Mark Huff)
March 21, 1997 at Legends

I've seen the Beggars more times than any other band. This was the night that when things went wrong, they went terribly, hideously wrong. Not that I didn't find it absolutely hilarious (probably 'cause I'm mean). Rob forgot lyrics, Bryan changed tempo mid-song and Mike tried in vain to save the evening with his lewd stories (trust me, you really don't want to know).

Guitar Wolf (w/ The Fells)
March 19, 1997 at The Wet Stop

Louie the Letch strikes again! I'd never heard of Guitar Wolf before, but I should have. They were fabulous as they jumped off their amps into the frenzied crowd in true punk rawk fashion.

The Hentchmen, The Wayouts
March 18, 1997 at The Wet Stop

I've been wanting to see The Hentchmen for a while now and the only disappointing thing was the sound problems that plagued most of their set. But it was still a lot of fun. The Wayouts are a very solid Vegas act - great instrumental surf rock.

Champagne's is rather brothel-like inside, what with the red velvet wallpaper and pictures of Marilyn Monroe everywhere. So for such a grand occasion, we all dressed as deluxely as possible. Jen radiated in her silver sparkles and leopard coat, Donna was lovely in vintage lime-green chiffon and I wore a floor-length lavender gown with glittery roses at the neckline (Betsy Johnson on a thrift store budget). Gobi even let me help him with his wardrobe! We put just about everyone in the place to shame, except for the Beggars themselves. They were just so cute in their jaunty sailor suits. Then there was Glenn, who looked disturbingly like a tall Angus Young. The crowd enjoyed the mood-setting lounge music and the belly dancers. Then it was time for the boys to take the stage. They sounded great, although I didn't actually venture into the packed front room (clastrophobia, ya know).

As a bonus here's what Opera Beggar Rob had to say about the release party, taken from my secret archives of the now defunct Opera Beggars web site...
Yes. We made a second record. And we had a second party. This time, we took over Champagnes Cafe - a real swanky-type Vegas joint with red velvet wallpaper. We passed out stupid hats and noisemakers to the couple hundred guests. And we decided to make a splash wearing full navy whites.

Needless to say, we looked spectacular. Before we played our set, Belly Dancers warmed up the crowd. Later in the evening, we raffled off a shitty guitar. The winner got to use it to bash a pinata full of prescription medication. To round out the event, we had the bar name numerous drinks for us including The Opera Slammer (Vodka, Chambord and sweet & sour), The Choco Beggar (Vodka and Dark Creme de Cocoa) and The Opera Jackoff (Jack Daniels, Triple Sec, sweet & sour, soda).

Yes, we're conceited dicks. But loveable.

The Aquabats (w/ Let's Go Bowling, Mealticket, Save Ferris & Attaboy Skip)
January 17, 1997 at The Huntridge Theatre

What a sight it was to see several hundred kids jumping up and down to Martian Girl and knowing full well they heard it on KUNV's Rock Avenue. The Aquabats stage theatrics involve fire and fake fist-fights to further their superhero images. They're quickly becoming a Vegas favorite and deservedly so.

Honk If Yer Horney - The White Trash Birthday Hootenanny
September 28, 1996 at the Double Down Saloon

When Kelly Benway decides to have a birthday party, you never know what's gonna happen.

At first it was going to be a barbeque at The Ranch, complete with a keg, a greased pig chase and mud wrestling.

Instead, Pleasant Gehman and her cohorts put on their finest thrift shop finds, blacked out a few teeth and converged on the Double Down Saloon. I guess if you didn't know what was going on it all looked really scary. NRA wannabes clad in polyester, sleezy-looking women with smeary lipstick and black-eyes, a guy on roller skates dressed in a g-string serving spray cheese and crackers. It was fabulous before they even hit the stage.

Heroines, Benny and the Goons (w/ Red Exit, The Loudhounds, Ray-O-Vac)
July 20, 1996 at Mad Dogs and Englishmen

Live music should not start in the afternoon during a Vegas summer, it's just too damn hot outside! But for the sake of the local music scene, we struggled out in the blinding sun at 3 in the afternoon. Nevermind the previous night (and early morning) of hard drinking and great music. So did a few other diehard fans 'cause weekends like this one just don't that often. The Heroines' raw, screaming punk rock-style was accentuated by Benny who placed a hollowed-out TV set on his head and cavorted like a madman. Then it was time for Benny and the Goons to take the stage and really shake things up with their great surf rock and the wrestling of audience members.

Bang!!!, The Regulars
July 3, 1996 at Fremont Street Reggae and Blues

WOW! I read that Bang!!! puts on an incredible live show, but I was still afraid it would be a watered-down revival band that sounds kinda like the English Beat. Boy, was I wrong; these guys are terrific! Dave Wakeling (English Beat and General Public) hasn't lost a note, Chris Karn (General Public) is a fabulous guitarist and the the rythmn section (Stoner on drums and Alan Christy on bass) pulled the sound together. A good sized crowd cheered and danced along with everyone's favorite English Beat and General Public songs, like Tears of a Clown and Mirror in the Bathroom and some of Wakeling's solo material.

The Regulars are Todd Samson and Bobby Adams, (Samson's Army) vocals/guitar, Greg Smith, (Mark Huff and the Inflatables) bass/vocals and Chris Moon (7 Seconds) on drums. These guys helped start the scene in Vegas and are still going strong. They played a rather short but hard-hitting set with definite punk rock roots. The only weak link was a power ballad that just didn't seem to fit with everything else. This band is very tight considering the short time these guys have been working together. Good luck!

The Opera Beggars
June 20, 1996 at the Double Down Saloon

Sporting his new reddish-blond close-cropped 'do, Brian Haraway was the least recognized member of The Opera Beggars. The first set was opened with Airplane one of several new songs that will be on their second album (rumor is they start recording sometime soon). Their new material is quite strong, my favorites include Centerfold Lounge and the song about all the girls Rob has loved. Working without a set list left them open to crowd suggestions, including many favorites like Rain, Trickle Down and Ordinary Boys from their first CD Cough. Despite the dirty looks they gave me as they struggled through Humdinger, it was a great effort and it took a lot of fans back to past shows. The crowd pleaser had to be Elvis' Love Me, which hit home with the people who had never even heard of the Opera Beggars before. They also managed a Mark Huff tune and a chorus of "Happy Birthday, Donna" for the Goddess of the Airwaves before wrapping up the show around 12:30 am. One of the most inspired shows of late, from my favorite local band.

Possum Dixon
June 16, 1996 at The Beach

Donna DeChristopher contributes this in-depth article and photos featuring the show and our trek around Vegas with the Possums that followed.

The Bomboras, Red Exit
June 15, 1996 at Favorites

A topless hula dancer, lots of fire, a guy who looks like a cross between Joey Ramone and Emo Phillips standing on his keyboard as if it were a surf board, and a fan dressed as Batman; could you ask for more in a late night Vegas show? The Bomboras are fan-fucking-tastic! You have to see this band! Mere words cannot describe their energy and the sound of surf guitars that just forces you to get up and dance - even though it's 1 am (after the hot and sweaty, yet still great 22 Jacks, Heroines and Attaboy Skip show out at the Henderson Elks Lodge, I might add).

Red Exit is quite an impressive band, especially if you follow the Las Vegas music scene and its players. Band members are Gigli (Constant Moving Party), Steve, Scrubby (The Scrubs) and Ruckus (Vermin from Venus).