Live Seattle: music in the clubs: Raw Dogs, The Cheap Cassettes, Swedish Finnish and Djake Noose at Darrells Tavern 5-14-16

I had been planning this show for 6 months with the help of Dan and Scott at Darrells. I hadn't hosted a Punk show in quite a while and was looking forward to seeing some raucous stuff up close. I produced 3 posters for the show.

But the best laid plans can go awry in a blink. The Primate Five cancelled on the Monday before the show. It was going to be tough to call anybody at this late hour. I tried a couple of my favorites, got one volunteer (Thanks to Everything Sux!) but in the end Dan found one of his buds to step in.

I love Darrells.

Rod Moody has been in over 20 bands. He is a local icon and was good enough to step in with his band; Swedish Finnish at the last minute. As it turned out they were great.

In fact, this whole evening turned into one fantastic experience. It is rare to see 3 great bands, bands that played totally different music genres on one bill. Add to that a killer DJ and host who knows how to whip up a crowd with good banter and great music.

Here is Djake Noose; host of Zorch Radio and DJ at many a local event and all around awesome guy. I have never seen him without a smile on his face.

Thanks to Djake for playing some killer music tonight. He has broad knowledge of many genres and is deep into the local culture. He hosts movie showings, wrestling matches and still manages to hold down a steady job.

I count Djake as a close friend and confident. He helped me set up this show. If he is game, I will always want him to play at my shows.

Here is a short video of Djake at work: https://youtu.be/xz-pV6BJxrw

Here is another one of my faves. This is Jenna, a longtime Darrells Tavern staff member and a sweet and good person.

Michael was the sound tech for the evening. I could hear every note of every instrument. Fine work Michael.

Swedish Finnish was up first. They played rock with guitars, bass and drums (according to their Facebook page).

Swedish Finnish is Rod Moody, Tina Anderson, Scott Sutherland and Andy Hoggarth.

They played some great original music with a fun attitude. They were long in the tooth (like me) but knew how to bring skilled music to the peeps. I was so glad to see that they were well received by the sparse but appreciative crowd.

This was a great way to kick off the band part of the evening. Djake had already warmed us up and Swedish Finnish was going to get our live juices flowing.

Thanks to Rod and his mates for playing tonight. They were way more fun than I had expected to get at the last moment. Thank you so much for coming out and rocking the house.

You can see Swedish Finnish here: https://www.facebook.com/SwedishFinnishBand/timeline

Some members of Raw Dogs were getting warmed up on the Dirty Harry pinball machine.

I first heard Charles Mathews on a surf disc that I ran across searching for surf bands in the Pacific Northwest. I produce a Surf Show every December at Darrells. I always am looking for good local talent.

Charles is an excellent musician. He shined on that surf disc so I asked him to play. He said that was mostly studio work. So we made a deal to showcase his live band, The Cheap Cassettes.

Here was another killer band playing with skill and passion. The played a mix of power-pop, power-punk and powerful rock and roll. It was quite the sound these guys produced. They filled the room with powerfully great music.

Everybody around me was really rocking to what was a very fresh sound. There were a lot of smiles and even the Dogs were rocking.

The Cheap Cassettes were awesome musicians with a killer stage presence. They had great vocals and made a very happy sound. Charles played a mean lead paired quite nicely with some talented mates. The Cheap Cassettes are: Charles Matthews-Vocals, Guitars, Kevin Parkhurst-drums, Mike Iseberg-bass and Michael Kane-guitar.

I don't have enough good words for these guys. Everybody I talked to loved them and I did too. This was a happy find. I can't wait to see The Cheap Cassettes again.

Meanwhile Djake was filling the air with great tunes. He is always sharing information about the music he plays. His specialty is Psychobilly, but he knows all the rocking genres.

Raw Dogs were nipping at our ankles, chomping at the bit to get on stage. They came prepared, stand back!

I knew we were in for quite the show. They had the look and the chops to thrill the punkster in me. Here comes Raw Dogs.

They were absolutely soul shaking. They came on like a tsunami and never stopped. Yes it was raw punk and the musicianship was all there. The place was rocking.

They brought out some of their own fans. I joined two guys on the floor and was having a gas when all of a sudden a gorilla in a hot dog costume blasted in. He hit me right in the face...I knew I had booked the right band. I love punk!

Freaking hilarious, it must have been hot in that dog.

Raw Dogs are: Joey Bones - Guitar/Vocals, Jerry "H.J. Loveshaft" DeVille -Vocals, Skwerll- Upright bass/Vocals, Ian "Bam Stroker" Party Master 5000- Drums/Vocals.

My main camera went down a little earlier so I had to complete the rest with my iPhone 5S. The pics came out pretty good. Let the pics of Raw Dogs speak. Here is Skwerll, he was a phenomenal bass player with a striking appearance.

The drums were miked and you got a thump in the groin every time Ian hit the bass with his foot. The drum head said PARTY and that is what he was doing.

Jerry was a blur, my iPhone had a tough time keeping up with him. He brought a super great stage show and added awesomely passionate vocals.

Joey was laying down the killer punk licks. His look was, well, disturbing.

The combination of the four was greater than the sum of it's whole, whatever that means. They were great and I was partying punk style like it was the 80's.

They had a lighted box that was activated when stepped on. It reminded me of the Rock Box® that Aloha Screwdriver uses in their shows. Here is Donald Bell shredding on his Batman guitar at our last surf show. You can see that here:http://liveseattlemusicintheclubs.blogspot.com/2015/11/santas-surf-spectacular-at-darrells.html

They used their little glow box to perfection, sometimes pumping it to the beat.

The Dogs went on last because no one could follow this act. A most excellent band. A most excellent set. See Raw Dogs here:https://www.facebook.com/RawDogsOfficial/timeline

Thanks to Raw Dogs for rocking our show. Thanks to The Cheap Cassettes for such a fresh and uplifting set. A special thanks to Rod and Swedish Finnish for coming in so late. You were great and I look forward to seeing you again. I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Thanks to Djake for helping me arrange this show. I appreciate your expertise, knowledge and friendship.