The Gum, The Plastards and Mystery Ship at Darrells 11-15-12

This evening was a total blast just as I knew it would be. The Gum fronted by crazy-man Rob Morgan was celebrating their 1st Anniversary. They are guaranteed fun, you really can's stay in your chair when they are onstage.

Darrells was crowded with young and old. I saw a lot of other musicians that I recognized. Here is Scott, the booking agent, sound tech and magician at Darrells and his buddy Fred, a man with his fingers in many musical efforts.

The Plastards were up first. They were hard rockers with punk, country and metal influences.

Great vocals and absolutely screaming guitars. The Plastards are: Ryan Anderson: Guitar, Vocals, Rich Bundy: Guitar, Vocals, Bill Schlanbusch: Bass, Vocals, and Bob Lurvey: Drums, Vocals.

Band Motto: The Plastards-Still starting and stopping together at the same time after all these years! A worthy endeavor indeed.

Hailing from a little town just sout of Seattle, here is another quote from their Facebook page relating to their band interests: Defying Tacoma stereotypes from nice people who just don't know what they're talking about. Oh, and testing our livers.

There was one particular active gentleman. Besides being a killer guitar player, he was as entertaining as a musician can be.

He was getting a lot of exercise, all while blazing the punk, metal and killer manic rock.

The Plastards were great fun and a excellent opening band for the evening. I will be looking forward to seeing them again. See them on the web here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Plastards/109458929083541

 Great percussion tonight.

They brought their own signage. I love their logo. As Scott said earlier, "this is what you get when you have a rainy day and a glue gun".

Great vocals too.

Darrells always has the best live music. No matter what the genre, they always have the best fresh talent in a killer atmosphere.

The Gum was up next, the crowd was getting close and the place was getting ready for the madness. This is a dance band with a big dose of humor. Rob is a walking, talking animatronic from Disneyland.

He is the insane front man for a very talented group of musicians. The Gum is (from their Facebook page): THE 2013 FRUITGUM CO. (AKA "THE GUM"): ROB MORGAN (The Squirrels, Pamona Boners, The Pudz, etc.)- Lead vocals, kazoo, ROD MOODY (The Fuzz, Green Handshake, Spike, Swallow, etc.)- Lead guitar, vocals, DAMON TITUS (The Enemy, Big Fun, The 79ers, etc.)- Guitar, vocals, CASEY ALLEN (The Life, Jimm & The Boxes, The Jess Grant Conspiracy, Wild Debbies, etc.)- Bass, vocals, VIC SANCHEZ (Severhead, The Fakes, Burma Shave, Strange Fruit, etc.)- Drums.

Here is the genre description on their Facebook page. Bubblegum, 60's/70's Pop, Glam Rock, Punk, straight up Rock 'N Roll and... whatever the Heck ELSE we feel like playing. FUN WILL BE HAD, or else. See them here: https://www.facebook.com/musicfromthegum

They play a lot of 70's covers in creative arrangements and crazy mash-ups. They were super hot tonight and the whole place was on their feet.

And of course, Rob has the energy and charisma of 5 rock stars. He is super fun to watch.

The Gum was killer, the crowd was singing along with the band, the dance floor was packed and there was fun all around. A great anniversary event.

Mystery Ship was up next, I had seen them one before and looked forward to seeing them again. I recognized them warming up at the bar.

They play killer rock with 60's and 70's influences.  Mystery Ship is: Michael Wohl - Lead guitar, vocals, Josh Kupferschmid - Guitar, Alex Hagenah - Bass guitar, vocals and Travis Curry - Drums. You can see them here:https://www.facebook.com/mysteryship/info

These guys were mesmerizing; a killer sound with a passionate delivery.

They have great dueling guitar and killer vocal duos.Their music may be influenced by the 70's, but it is fresh and contemporary rock.

The lead guitar player was amazing; Michael had magic fingers and a killer look.

The bass player was laying the bottom and singing vocals. Alex was so marvelous to watch, moving and rocking with passion.

Dynamite percussion was driving this rocking band. Travis had a sweet set of drums and cymbals.

Josh was out on the dance floor rocking the rhythm. He had to be out there because The drum set took up a half acre and most of the stage. Here he is entertaining one of their fans.

Michael was easy to photograph, he has a wonderful authentic rockers persona.

They had the last of the crowd hanging on every note. Their are on tour and at the top of their game.

One more look at Michael.

I loved watching Josh blazing out on the dance floor.

I will look for them the next time they are in town. Darrells is the best place to see them; an intimate atmosphere, a great sound system and  a massive selection of adult beverages.

hanks to Darrells Tavern for booking the killer bands. This is one of the best venues in Seattle to see live music. If you are lucky enough to lie in the area, don't miss this great experience. see them here: http://www.darrellstavern.com/

Thanks to Mystery Ship for the visit to Darrells.

Thanks to The Gum and the amazing Rob Morgan for his performance and the ensuing fun.

See some live music soon. Support your local artists and have some fun at the same time. Oh, and always buy any swag the band have to offer, here is some cool stuff I got  from Mystery Ship.