The Groovie Ghoulies

with the Eyeliners and Clearance Clarence Revolver

The Covered Dish, Gainesville, FL • April 17, 1999

Brian Kruger

Local trio Clearance Clarence Revolver went on first, to a too-small crowd due to final exams at the University. They played Ramones-y 3-chord punk rock stripped down to the essentials. No leads, no backing vocals (so far as I could tell), the lyrics were often incomprehensible, but intros disclosed subject matter that included VCR’s, William “Refrigerator” Perry, and one song called “Rock and Roll Post Office.” The lead singer had this odd habit of suddenly going into falsetto during the between-song patter, for no apparent reason. Weird.

The Eyeliners, an all-female trio from the arguably unlikely burg of Albuquerque, were in the middle slot. Most of the lead vocals were by the drummer, with frequent backing by the guitarist and occasional backing by the bassist. This stuff was way tasty, garagey pop. The guitarist was easily the most accomplished of the evening, playing an old Silvertone; likewise, the bassist blew the other bass players off the stage with great walking lines that moved yet were unobtrusive. The guitarist was jumping around the stage from the first song, and even played behind her head during one song. Yet the showmanship was an integral part of the enthusiasm – these women love what they are doing. I do too.

The closers were the Groovie Ghoulies, playing as a four-piece, with more poppy punk rock and roll. Lead singer Kepi was out from behind the drums (which he played on their latest album), with a raccoon-type stripe painted over his eyes, and did not stop hopping around like a maniac the whole time. Keeping with the Eyeliners’ yummy-looking ladies (sue me, I’m hetero), guitarist Roach was very fetching with her bleached blond hair, black “baby” T and vinyl (mmm-mmm!) pants. And for those of you into boys, bassist B-Face (ex-Queers) was also sporting a bleach job of spiky locks– something for everyone. The set consisted of songs from the new album, old favorites, and lots of requests from the crowd, including (I’m mainly guessing here) “Have Your Way With Me,” “Graceland,” and “Satisfy Me.” The band did a “countdown to Wednesday” as if it were New Year’s Eve, closing with a cover of the Ramones “Pet Sematary” and “Ghoulies Are Go!” This was a great bill, look for the Eyeliners and/or Ghoulies when they tour in the future, you won’t be disappointed by either one! ◼