On April 9 I bore witness to five bands at El Corazon who were beyond fabulous. Though the headliner was Creepshow, from Toronto, there really were two headliners — the other being The Phenomenauts. Hailing from the East Bay area, The Phenomenauts are part corny fifties TV sci-fi show, part comedy troupe, part rock band and solidly entertaining! The group’s motto is a call to arms to defenders of science and honor across the galaxy. They began their show with an explosion of CO2 that engulfed the stage like a blizzard. But the theatrics didn’t stop there. They came on stage wearing lab coats, often performed choreographed moves, and used what they call “Phenoma-gadgets.” One of those gadgets is The Streamerator, manned by Professor Greg Arius, that blasts rolls of toilet paper into the audience. Then there’s the Theramatic Helmerator, or “top of AR7-Bot’s head,” which stayed on his head the entire show and even for a stint with Creepshow.
At times Commander Angel Nova leapt into the crowd and danced with audience members and even got on one knee to serenade a couple young women. With up-beat, new wave/punk sounds, accompanied by chants of, “Neil DeGrasse Tyson,” The Phenomenauts are total fun. The Phenomenauts have quite a strong following in Seattle, which is surprising as they haven’t played here in nearly a decade. I hope I don’t have to wait as long next time they come. The Phenomenauts are, Agent Ion O’Clast (keyboards/chaos engineer), Major Jimmy Boom (drums), Commander Angel Nova (guitar/vocals), Leftenent. AR7 (guitar/vocals), Professor Greg Arius (keyboard/effects), Atom Bomb (bass).
Unfortunately, most seemed to have come just for the Phenomenauts, for the crowd had thinned when Creepshow came on stage. That’s such a shame because Creepshow are a great band, part punk, part psychobilly and great performers.
They have a brand new singer, Kenda, who proved she could work an audience. She lunged to the front of the stage, riling everyone up as she belted out their most famous tunes such as Zombies Ate Her Brain, Run For Your Life, and others, most of which are based off horror movies. Two or three times Kenda leaped into the audience and moshed with moshers, danced with dancers and even did a hair shake with a couple young women in the crowd. For one song, Pehenomenaut , Leftenent. AR7 joined them on stage, helmet firmly in place. Those who went home early missed out on half the fun. Creepshow is, Sean “Sickboy” McNab on upright bass & backing vocals, the aforementioned Kenda on lead vocals and guitar, the Reverend McGinty on keyboard and backing vocals, and Sandro Sanchioni on drums.
The three openers included, Seattle’s own rockabilly trio Hard Money Saints. They never disappoint. This trio plays roots rock with some classic Rolling Stones type rock and a sprinkling of country thrown in. They revved things up to a fevered pitch and had many dancing about. HMS are as follows: Jack Rainwater- Shreddin Guitar and Vocals, Nich (Lil’ Dirty) Scott- Ol’ Pig Skins, Armondo Nienhuser- Slappin that Dog House Bass. If you haven’t checked them out yet, do!
Opening the whole night were two new Seattle bands, Post Alley Hoodlums & Jack Rabbit Starts. Both these bands are new to the scene, but veterans of other bands and their experience and prowess shined through. Both bands played tight, rock n roll with elements of psychobilly and roots rock and lots of punk. Both are bands I will be watching for. They gave great performances.
