the supertones
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4/15/2008 5:21:38 AM
the supertones play otto's 2/3/08
review:
The Supertones Live at Otto's, NYC 2/2/08
February 3, 2008 · 2 Comments
The Supertones differentiate themselves from the legions of other
bands in the thriving surf instrumental underworld in that they
write excellent original songs. The long-running unit has been
together since 1988; their weekly residency at the old Luna Lounge
in the late 90s is the stuff of legend. But the band seemed to lose
interest after that, phoning in covers of awful 60s pop hits like
Georgie Girl on the increasingly rare instances that they played out
at all. Although their drummer and rhythm player left shortly
thereafter to form Mr. Action & the Boss Guitars, the rhythm guy is
back, and their lead guitarist is better than ever, tremolo-picking
furiously and really taking his playing to the next level. With
Simon Chardiet from Simon & the Bar Sinisters on bass, way up in the
sound mix, playing wildly furious, intense lines on an 8-string
Hamer and then a vintage Rickenbacker, and a new drummer whose stock
in trade obviously isn't surf but proved up to the challenge, they
immediately reclaimed their status as one of this city's must-see
live bands.
As usual, most of their set was originals. Stylistically, they take
their cue more from the Ventures or the Shadows, jangling and
clanging in major keys with a ton of reverb rather than doing the
Beirut stomp a la Dick Dale. Of the few covers they did play, the
best were a spot-on recreation of the old Lee Hazelwood classic Baja
and the obscure, gently twanging Morgan, along with a driving take
of Journey to the Stars. Their best original was a gorgeously
melodic, nocturnal number introduced by Chardiet: "That one is
dedicated to George Bush. It's called Bushwacked. And this next one
is dedicated to Rudy Guiliani's prostate. It's called Last Ride," he
gleefully told the crowd, as they launched into a swaying, spaghetti-
western tune.
The show was put together by Unsteady Freddie, who is something of a
legend in the surf world, a promoter who tirelessly travels the
country, spreading the gospel of reverb and 2/4 time. The shows he
puts together here on the first Saturday of every month are reliably
good and sometimes absolutely transcendent. The latter promised to
be the case tonight. It would have been awfully nice to have been
able to stick around for the scorchingly powerful Coffin Daggers and
another recently resurgent band, the Sea Devils, but by then it was
already past one and time to nudge a handful of overindulgent people
in the direction of home.
the link:
http://lucidculture.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/the-supertones-live-at-
otto%e2%80%99s-nyc-2208/#comment-7239
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