Tiger Bomb, Glider, Fleshtones
The Magic Room, Norwood, MA
Saturday August 20, 2022
Chelsea Curve, Muck & The Mires, The Woggles
The Porch, Norwood, MA
Friday September 2, 2022
Fleshtones at the Magic Room
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The heatwave may have ended and summer fading, but rock has really been heating
up as of late. I got to see two legendary garage rockers blow the roof off the
stage in two new venues. Both put on high energy shows with much stage shenanigans
and audience baiting.
Magic Room, in the otherwise out of the way suburb of Norwood
(where Boch Motors is located), is a sizable place, decked out with circus clowns,
ghosts, and spooky, mysterious esoterica, that has been putting on some decent
bills post-Covid.
Tiger Bomb at the Magic Room
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Openers Tiger Bomb (all female garage-rockers from Portland,
ME) and GLiDER (all male garage-rockers from Boston, with yours
truly on synth/keys!) got the party started, ably setting the tenor for the
Fleshtones’ set.
And what a beautiful noise these grizzled veterans made! Man, they put performers
nearly half their ages to utter shame with their manic stage moves, enticing
the crowd to emulate the spastic jumps and waving arms! Front man/guitarist
Peter Zaremba and guitarist/keyboardist Keith Streng,
charter members of the band, bring the spirit of those long gone NYC garage/punk
days at CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City (where the Fleshtones cut their collective
teeth) as if they never disappeared.
Fleshtones at the Magic Room
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Relative newcomers Bill Milhizer (on bass) and Ken
Fox (on drums) provided a solid rhythm section amid the club’s
projector displays of psychedelic fractal figures and lightning bolts as a backdrop
adding to the excitement.
They whipped up their classics “American Beat” and “The Girl
from Baltimore” and have a swagger and a slight obsession with Cramps-style
B-grade horror in their recent song “Face of the Screaming Werewolf”
which befits the Magic Room’s decor. They are still a force to be reckoned
with and their releases on Yep Rock records are worth picking up!
Woogles at The Porch
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Two weeks later I had the privilege of seeing another legendary garage/punk
practitioners, Atlanta’s mighty combo The Woggles. Of
all places, they were booked at one of the newer venues, The Parlor
Southern Fare and Juke Joint in Medford, right off Rte. 16. This unlikely
Southern BBQ restaurant is now hosting some cool rock billings!
Muck and the Mires at The Porch
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Opening was two of Boston’s hardest gigging and exciting live bands The
Chelsea Curve and Muck & the Mires.
The Chelsea Curve tore through their original mod-rock songs
(with a cool cover) and Muck & The Mires just keeps dazzling
with their solid garage rock chops and dynamic stage moves.
The Chelsea Curve at The Porch
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Then The Woggles proceeded to show that their many years of
riding the highs and lows of rock hasn’t diminished these guys by even
one iota of their power. In fact, they’re more raucous than ever!
Their manic front man “The Professor” Mighty Manfred was
swaggering, prowling, standing on the bar table, swinging the mic stand and
mingling with the masses while slaying through their nuggets like “Got
a Heat On,” “Nothing More to Say” and “Please Leave
My Mind.”
Woogles at The Porch
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Guitarist/sax player Shane Pringle (who also writhed on the
floor with his reed at one point!), guitarist Graham Day, bassist
Buzz Hagstrom and drummer Dan Eletxro dazzled
us with their high energy and spot-on ‘60s garage drive. Tonight couldn’t
have gotten Labor Day weekend off to a better start!
Fleshtones at the Magic Room
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GLiDER at the Magic Room
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Peter Zaremba - Fleshtones
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Shane Pringle - The Woggles
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