30 Oct 10

Hey, trick-o-treaters, give SouthSide somthing good to eat (Nestle Crunch)! After her 1st polka experience with The Polkaholics, it was time for Dr. SouthSide do some serious partying at Elbo Room for more rockin' Halloween-themed fun! Fans dressed in their best costumes as Brett Farve (yes he was showing his "package") to Hamburger Helper hand and Captain Hook (Wags of Red City) ...Jesus (Matt at the door), Priest (Leonard of Lucid Ground) and devils were in good company (sounds like a joke opening line, huh?). Plenty of nerds were in attendance ...and the one and only ultimate playboy Hugh Hefner (Mike of The Branded) was seen with his current playmate bunny too. Rockin' the stage were three legends of rock, Pink Floyd (Bullet Called Life), The Doors (The Plastic Boots) and David Bowie (Model Stranger)- all performing their greatest hits. Also sharing the stage with them were The Fireship, Bambi Raptor and Digital Mindy performing a special electronica set.

He's the Lizard King ...and he can do anything! The essence and spirit of Jim Morrison was alive and well inside The Plastic Boots covering (as well as dressed) The Doors, blogspot readers. This local band did a fantastic job re-creating the lizard king experience for the crowd downstairs. Plastic rocked out the stage with popular hits such as Roadhouse Blues, Backdoor Man, People Are Strange and the poetic epic (and one of SouthSide's favorites) Riders Of The Storm. The Doors closed out their amazing show with Break On Through which had the audience exploding into a wild dance frenzy. Check out The Plastic Boots as themselves on stage by visiting http://www.myspace.com/theplasticbootsband. Meanwhile dressed in Star Wars themed costumes (including Jabba The Hut with slave girl Leia chained to the drum kit), Bullet Called Life rocked out the lounge as the experimental rock band - Pink Floyd. Floyd fans take notice - this local did an EXCELLENT job rockin' the stage with a few favorites. SouthSide was in pure heaven listening to Pigs (which led straight into a rockin' burst of Into The Flesh), Shine On You Crazy Diamond (BCL didn't water down this epic 17-part song), and Echoes (the BEST cover excellently done but rarely heard). Yet no Floyd experience wouldn't be complete without the infamous song duo Brain Damage and Eclipse. WOW, what a performance, blogspot readers! Check out Bullet Called Life as themselves on stage by visiting http://www.bulletcalledlife.com or http://www.myspace.com/bclrock. Closing out the legends of rock was the one and only David Bowie by Model Stranger. 1973 David Bowie (in the height of his glam days as Ziggy Stardust) made a rare appearance performing his greatest hits like Modern Love, Ziggy Stardust, Rebel Rebel, Oh Pretty Things and Suffragette City. He even performed the popular rock anthem All The Young Dudes written for Mott The Hoople. Then David zipped into the future to rock out this crowd with two smashing hits by Model Stranger - Monster and Dreams & Bones. Check out Model Stranger as themselves by visiting http://www.modelstranger.com or http://www.myspace.com/modelstranger.

Rockin' the Elbo Room after performing a show in Milwaukee, The Fireship (http://www.thefireship.com or http://www.myspace.com/thefireship) had plenty of fire and energy left to entertain this costumed crowd. SouthSide was impressed by the band's wicked guitar hooks/riffs as well as the subtle crescendo and bursts of sound strategically placed for those moments of thunderous wow effect. Plus with Nicholas on vocals full of fiery emotion and passion, The Fireship certainly blew this reviewer away. Meanwhile the nerdy tri-Lambdas (quick name that movie reference and win a cool SouthSide prize) from Bambi Raptor University took the stage next. The crowd enjoyed the split personality of calm Roger (on vocals) and screamo/anger Kenneth (bass/vocals) heard in songs like Griffin and Gunslinger. From bits of reggae/ska (Greenology) and to pop/alternative (Cosplay), this Bambi will keep you rockin' along with them. The guys will be celebrating their 2nd CD release show on Nov 26th at House of Blues. Go to http://www.officialbambiraptor.com or http://www.myspace.com/bambiraptor for all the details. The original known as Digital Mindy closed out this rockin' Halloween party with a fun, creepy themed show. SouthSide loved their haunting version of Pink Elephants On Parade (quick name the Disney which features this song and win a cool SouthSide prize) that featured Nick (dressed as The Joker - BEST villian costume of the night) and his laughter. Along with Jon (dressed as a stormtrooper) on guitar, they performed other Digital hits like Pretty Pretentious Drama Queen, The Switch and Mr. Agitator. As a special treat for the late-night audience, they performed a haunting cover of Nine Inch Nail's Closer before closing out the set with a Digital version of Nightmare On Elm St movie theme music. Visit Digital Mindy at http://www.digitalmindy.com or http://www.myspace.com/digitalmindy.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide