This was a super fun show I booked with our friends from Chicago, My Name Is Rar-Rar and Lozenge. Both bands featured players from different editions of Weasel Walter’s Flying Luttenbachers.

Rar-Rar starred Chuck Falzone (of the classic pink Revenge “no wave” trio iteration of the Luttenbachers) on guitar and Jonathan Hischke (who played in a later but similarly rock-styled trio version of the Luttenbachers around Infection and Decline) on sinewave space bass.

Camilla Ha was Rar-Rar’s singer for this show. She led the band in an extended sound check that was so full-force and scatalogical that many in the audience thought that was the main show. It wasn’t!

My Name Is Rar-Rar retired to the green room only to emerge again in a thunderclap of thrash-like absurdist confrontationalism—thank you, Chrissy Rossettie, for the absolutely astounding and GROOVY drumming.

The gathered friends at Speak In Tongues lapped it up—especially when Camilla started wrestling with members of the crowd.

Lozenge is a very strange almost pataphysical prog band featuring Kurt Johnson (who double-bassed in the frantic and insectoid “acoustic” free jazz late mid-’90s version of the Luttenbachers circa Trauma), Kyle Bruckmann on accordion, and a bunch of other weirdos throwing down.

Lozenge came onstage and played the opening track from Melvins‘ Houdini which was a few of years old and a deliciously unfashionable choice of tracks to open a set with at punk rock-oriented Speak In Tongues. But I was—am—so thrilled by their cunning little stunt.

WHAT’S REALLY AMAZING is that Lozenge actually recorded the set they played at Speak In Tongues (somewhere else) and it’s INCREDIBLE.

Listen to Lozenge while you view these photos

Ian Colbert and I—ya know, Sean & Ian—opened the show in Muppet drag. The music sounded very squonky on my newish sax and Ian’s vintage synth. I dunno. It was a thing—it happened.

Begit N Frenz was Beckett Warren & no friends onstage this particular night (Beckett often appeared with stuffed animals or his cat or Joe Bernard backing him up). But that’s okay!! Beckett’s hip hop-inspired dada routine was well-honed at this point and he knocked it out of the park… and around the globe basically. Genius, always and forever.

Erick Bradshaw brought Stanton Thatcher and Brian Straw among others into his Mind No Mind ensemble and drenched us all in semi-strategized noisy musical catharsis. Whew!

READ: An interview with Mind No Mind musician & Speak In Tongues sound person, Brian Straw

I’m such a whore.

Scam Carnage vs Spilt Milk. Photo: Sarah Wido.

Scam aka Sean Carnage. Photo: Sarah Wido.

Spilt Milk aka Ian Colbert. Photo: Sarah Wido.

Demetri Inembolidis, the Flying Luttenbachers’ Johnathan Hischke & friends

Erik Bradshaw aka Mind No Mind

Stanton Thatcher & Brian Straw with Mind No Mind

Lozenge’s Kyle Bruckmann chats with Jason Luchka

Ryan Smith, Ian Colbert, Sarah Wido, Camilla Ha, Demetri, Jonathan Kraft

Kyle Bruckmann, Kurt Johnson with Lozenge

Danny Noonan looks on

Begit N Frenz, aka Beckett Warren 

CD sales & hanging at the bar—looks like Rob Sirovica, Danny Noonan, Steve Peffer

Camilla Ha of My Name Is Rar-Rar

Jonathan, Demetri, Chuck… lots of friends

Chuck Falzone, Camilla Ha, Chrissie Rossettie of My Name Is Rar-Rar

My Name Is Rar-Rar

Chuck Falzone, Camilla Ha, Chrissie Rossetti, Jonathan Hischke aka My Name Is Rar-Rar

Cynthia Piper, Ian Colbert, Rob Sirovica, Sarah Wido, Camilla Ha, Keith Miller, Danny Noonan, Courtney Christensen

Camilla targets Ian while John Bernard and Sarah look on

Jonathan and Jonathan

Since social media had not yet been invented, after the show I pasted these photos on a board and hung them in Speak In Tongues so folks could see what happened!

Here’s SIX years of Speak In Tongues photos, clippings & stories from my collection

This classic Speak In Tongues show inaugurated over a decade of DIY shows in L.A.—read about it

I was the Easter Bunny for GSMF & the craziest Speak In Tongues show ever

Need more Cleveland insanity? I skipped the last Nirvana show to book my first concert—here are the recordings!

Read more about the Cleveland scene in U.S. Rocker

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