Guitar Wolf lets Bass Wolf lead the pack
Bass Wolf and Guitar Wolf-All Photos by ©dickslaughter.com
One of the best (or most dangerous) parts of the Punk Rock Bowling experience is often the club shows held in different venues around downtown. Much like the pub shows around the Rebellion Festivals, these club shows allow you to see bands from the festival in a more intimate setting or catch groups that were not on the official lineup. I say it's more dangerous because they can extend your day of punk rock debauchery and might lead to you being featured on Passedoutpax.
The plan was to see the lo-fi legends and “jet rock ‘n’ roll” innovators, Guitar Wolf. After quickly finishing my prime rib and losing all of my allowance at the slots, I walked from world famous El Cortez to the Usual Place. Unfortunately, by the time I made my way inside and exchanged pleasantries with the friendly staff at the door, I had already missed the first two bands. However, I did make it in time to see Guitar Wolf setting up. The venue was packed, with the crowd gathered around the stage.
Bass Wolf and Guitar Wolf-All Photos ©dickslaughter.com
During their first song, ‘Kicks’, it quickly became apparent that they had encountered technical difficulties with Bass Wolf’s equipment. Frantic attempts were made to fix the issue, including yelling at the equipment and jumping up and down to jiggle the bass cord, which seemed to have been recently repaired with duct tape. When these attempts failed, Bass Wolf threw his bass to the ground and began shaking the amplifier. Guitar Wolf appeared to be losing patience, but both he and Drum Wolf continued to play.
Guitar Wolf-All Photos by ©dickslaughter.com
A crew member quickly grabbed another bass head with a cord and changed it out in less than a minute. Bass Wolf grabbed his bass and jumped back in, but within seconds, the song was over. Guitar Wolf whipped off his guitar, held it up, let it drop to his side, and favored us with some of his famous between-song banter. His Japanese accent is heavy, and his English, as he says, “is not that very great,” though I think he plays it up a little. I tried very hard to understand, but he lost me somewhere.
Guitar Wolf-All Photos by ©dickslaughter.com
This is what I remember; if you were able to understand more of his speech, please let me know.
“In America, you have a girlfriend; in Japan, we have a girlfriend. This is the night of Jet Rock ‘n’ Roll. We love this Las Vegas, Wolf Jet Rock ‘n’ Roll, Las Vegas go. You are very beautiful tonight. Thank you very much.”
Guitar Wolf-All Photos by ©dickslaughter.com
With their technical difficulties behind them, The Wolf was ready to rock. They delivered an electrifying performance, playing all their hits, including ‘Long Tall Sally’, ‘Jet Love’, ‘Jet Generation’, a cover of ‘Kick Out the Jams’, and many more. Throughout the show, I noticed that Bass Wolf did most of the singing and appeared to be somewhat co-leading the band's set, with Guitar Wolf encouraging him.
Bass Wolf and Guitar Wolf-All Photos by ©dickslaughter.com
The show was a rumble of a good time. There was a beer chugging contest (Bass Wolf was the winner) and more interaction with the audience. It was even more difficult to understand the talking after the beer chugging. During the encore performance of ‘Fujiyama Attack’, Bass Wolf jumped from the stage to the barricade rail and launched himself into the audience, crowd-surfing and singing his way around, almost reaching the back, and then back to the front before being tossed back onto the stage. He grabbed his bass and jumped back into the song without missing a beat. It was a perfect way to end the show.
guitarwolf.net
punkrockbowling.com
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