THE MISFITS
AIN'T NO GODDAMN SON OF A BITCH
It's sadly easy to ignore any merit the Misfits may have had in the face of a long list of reasons to ignore them altogether: soap-opera legal battles, licensing their logo to everything from T-shirts to cell-phone covers, albums and tours with just one original member, pro-wrestling appearances—man, fuck these guys! Except—all that's come since the REAL Misfits broke up in 1983, part of a legacy (of brutality, yuk yuk) that endures thanks to a rock-solid songbook, collective amnesia and fans' willingness to ignore absolute hackery. The first single may have been the peak—they put an electric piano through a fuzz box—but even after the band regressed to the traditional electric guitar, they still pulled off absolutely insidiously catchy Ramones-style punk, with Glenn Danzig's Dave Vanian croon up top. “Where Eagles Dare,” “Teenagers From Mars” and “She” are untouchable, no matter what anyone says, and it's these songs—and not the funny haircuts—that keep these current assholes on the road today. But they could have been nothing more than the focus for a rightly enthusiastic musical cult if it hadn't been for a pre-suck Metallica giving the band a stamp of approval, and this was followed by the legal battles; a reformed Danzig-free band still called the Misfits; and now a punk rock cabaret act with one original Misfit, a tangential Ramone and a Black Flag-er. Watch a righteous 20-plus-year take on punk rock circle the bowl, baby. Woah-oh! (Rex Reason)
THE MISFITS WITH MARKY RAMONE AND DEZ CADENA, PLUS AGENT ORANGE AND D.I. AT THE GROVE OF ANAHEIM, 2200 E. KATELLA, ANAHEIM, (714) 712-2700. SUN., 9 P.M. $25. ALL AGES.
TILLY AND THE WALL
TAPPA TAPPA TAPPA
Why settle for a big sweaty drummer when you can have a cute little lady dancing on a box instead? Omaha's Tilly and the Wall may have the best gimmick in the indie-rock business: before she became Tilly and the Wall's tap dancer, Jamie Williams was a model; a pro ballerina; a grade-school teacher; and a member of Conor Oberst (pre-Bright Eyes) and Clark Baechle's (pre-Faint) band, Park Ave. (She even inspired the title of their only full-length, When Jamie Went to London . . . We Broke Up.) At the moment, she's on tour in support of her band's absolutely giddy debut full-length, Wild Like Children (the first release on Oberst's label, Team Love), and we've been playing phone tag for days. When we finally get a hold of each other, she says, “Oh, my God, I feel like we're old friends. Like, what's up, girl?” She gabs about the acoustics of her tap-dancing box with the ardor of a serious musician and the patience of a stellar kindergarten teacher. “I tap on top of an aluminum sign for the poppier songs and just use the wooden box for the slower songs,” she explains. “The aluminum is more high-end, so I use a boundary mic for that. And I have a kick mic in a hole in the back of the box for the bassy low-end sounds.” Sound guys across the country are pretty fascinated with the apparatus as is, but Williams wishes for a more high-tech system. “If you have tons of money, you can buy mics that go in your shoes and in your taps, and that's my ideal,” she says, wistfully. “But those are for people in 42nd Street—they're not for Tilly and the Wall.” And hey, a girl can dream! (Kara Zuaro)
TILLY AND THE WALL WITH RILO KILEY, NOW IT'S OVERHEAD TILLY AND THE WALL SMOOSH AT THE GLASS HOUSE, 200 W. SECOND ST., POMONA, (909) 629-0377. SUN., 7 P.M. $15. ALL AGES.
HIP-HOP HALLOWEEN
THIS YEAR HALLOWEEN FELL ON A WEEKEND. . .
This Saturday, Abstract Workshop and ElseWhere present Hell_ephunk—their first-ever old-school/'80s/funk Halloween hip-hop costume contest explosion. If you need some last-minute costume ideas, consider a big red clock on a gold chain, plastic glasses with a big nose, or MF Doom's metal mask. And if you need some company, grab a cauldron, some dragon's breath, and your Ouija board and try to raise some of hip-hop's best artists (besides Jam Master J, of course), currently tearing it up in the great beyond:
Charizma: Was famed DJ Peanut Butter Wolf's man behind the mic, with a record deal that never panned out and an effortless set of cocky, hilarious rhymes. He was still ahead of his time when he died in 1993. Reason for being missed: the West Coast could have used an ultramagnetic MC of its own. Eazy-E: Nobody made bitches, hos, 40s, Impalas, jheri curls and gas-station gangsta sunglasses more appealing to suburban kids than Compton's own Eazy-E, and nobody made people more scared to wear Raiders hats, too. Reason for being missed: that Bone Thugs video. So sad! Scott La Rock: Became DJ for KRS-One after the two met at a homeless shelter where KRS-One was living and where La Rock was a social worker. Criminal Minded, their first album, was considered an instant hit, and Boogie Down Productions was a powerhouse until La Rock was shot while breaking up a scuffle between two rappers. Reason for being missed: “Super Ho”! So sad! MC Trouble: Was on her way to greatness soon after becoming the first female rap artist to sign with Motown. Her first hit “(I Wanna) Make You Mine” climbed the charts in 1990 until she passed away from an epileptic seizure in 1991. Reason for being missed:J.J. Fad isn't around anymore either. (Charlie Rose)
HELL_EPHUNK WITH DJS SCOTTY COATS, NOMSG, URTHWORM, COCOE, JOSH ONE, AND PLAINTAROAM AT DETROIT BAR, 843 W. 19TH ST., COSTA MESA, (949) 642-0600. www.detroitbar.com. SAT., 9 P.M. $10. 21+.
