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The LUNACHICKS reunited
April 6, 2002
by Liz Velic
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It's been awhile since I've been really excited about a show. I mean, I can have fun at shows but it's been quite some time since I've marked one on my calendar in big red letters, hung the flyer on my wall, and began planning to get there not just on time...but EARLY. This show snapped me out of my jaded stupor and back into a time where $6 seemed like a perfectly reasonable price for a beer, and the massive crowding in a tiny NYC punk club seemed "cozy".
I am talking, of course, about the "Lunachick Fringe" at CBGB featuring 4 side bands containing four LUNACHICKS...with a "special surprise" promised at the end.
The crowd at CBGB was surprisingly small (I had assumed the place would fill up immediately) by time the opening act, The Doxies, took the stage. The Doxies are young, drunk, energetic punk girls with a lot of attitude. This was their 1st show. The bass player bore a striking resemblance to Theo. When Theo later asked if she was the one everyone thought looked like her kid sister, the girl replied with "I don't know what your sister looks like". They played a loud, short, obnoxious set and covered Bikini Kill. It was painless, and they have a lot of potential.
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Next up was TEAM SQUID. It sounded like this: "Are you sure this is Squid's band? I don't see her anywhere" "WHOA! You guys, that's Squid!" "I didn't know Squid could sing!" "I didn't know Squid could play guitar!" "Dude! Squid got totally HOT". Eventually everyone got over Squid's cleaned up appearance and realized that TEAM SQUID was kicking massive ass -thanks to the formerly-unnoticed singing and guitar talents of the inkslinger herself, and aided by multi-talented Tracy Almazon (most notably of The Wives and touring bassist for Nashville Pussy) on drums.
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all photos by: Erica Beckman |
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The other LUNACHICKS also proved that the 'chicks 3 year "hiatus" was not wasted. Gina, who set up the whole night ("it's always been the master plan to have BANTAM open for the LUNACHICKS", she explained), makes a fabulous front woman/guitarist for her high-octane punk act BANTAM.
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Chip nearly broke the drum set with SUICIDE KING, who featured a heavily tattooed giant as a lead singer.
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By the time Theo took the stage, the place was packed and anxious energy filled the air. The front of the stage was jammed tight with eager young kids who had staked out their spot before the 1st band. Many of them were too young to have seen the LUNACHICKS the first time around, and you could see the look of awe and excitement in their eyes. The older portion of the crowd were no doubt excited to see the return of a band they saw all the damn time back before New York really started to suck.
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Theo's solo act can only be described as pure Theo. The inimitable LUNACHICKS' front-woman floated onstage wearing long false eyelashes and a giant, sparkly green dress. With her were 2 identically-clad go-go dancers. There was no band. Theo sang over a sequencer while she and the dancers indulged in bizarre choreography. It was surreal. It was genius. It was Theo.
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After a short set (maybe it wasn't so short, but I was distracted for awhile by the presence of one Ms. Debbie Harry in the area where I was seated), Theo looked around and said, "Well, I guess as long as I am up here I'll get some friends to join me". The crowd roared as The LUNACHICKS took the stage. Theo gave shout outs to Helen Destroy (the ultra-talented young drummer who did the final LUNACHICKS tour), and to [original drummer] "Becky Wreck, wherever you are". She then filled us in on the happenings over the past couple of years: Brickface and Stucco are still together. Formica Linoleum is a teenager, and is still trying on her parent's gender-variant clothing. Edgar the cat has passed away. And, her VCR has broken completely (no word on whether or not Squid has been responsible for the death of any more small rodents). The crowd cheered...we all knew what was coming up next. And, sure enough, the girls busted into "Luxury Problem". The crowd went wild. A mosh pit opened up, and all I could see in front of me were a bunch of pogoing heads.
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In perhaps the most interesting gesture of the night, Sindi, who left the LUNACHICKS before they recorded their final album, joined the band for the rest of their set. Songs included "Jan Brady" (!!!), "Less Teeth, More Tits", "Jerk Of All Trades", "Don't Want You", "Drop Dead", "Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board" and "Dear Dottie".
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It was a short set. Theo claimed that was because they only remembered that many songs. Even after all these years, the girls were super tight. The audience was exuberant. There was a mosh pit, crowd surfers, pogoing (by the old people like myself), finger pointing, lyric shouting, burping (mainly by Theo) and more energy then I have felt at a show in years.
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The girls in the band were all smiles, seeming a bit overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from their devoted fans. I wonder if they expected anything less from a hometown crowd who have been devoid of their 'chicks for far too long. I just hope we don't have to wait 2 more years to see them together again.
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[NOTE from Danise: I am currently working on an interview with Becky Wreck, which will be posted when it's time to post it.]
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