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LIZZIE BORDEN & THE AXES, THE FOOLS, RODS & CONES, O POSITIVE, BIG CITY ROCKERS, DIGNEY FIGNUS, RIGHT TURN
V-66 25th Reunion
The House of Blues, Boston, MA
2/11/10
It's almost midnight when I turn to my date and say, "Isn’t this night like a scene in a Salvadore Dali movie?" And its true: a bunch of bands from another era are celebrating the 25th reunion of long-gone music video station V-66. I blink my eyes and it’s a cornucopia of night and day: punk rock, new wave, dance rock, guitar rock, roots rock, grrrrl rock. When I walk in Right Turn is playing and their Americana sound is good easy listening and they are followed by a short set of songs by Digney Fignus. Although Digney no longer dyes his hair blonde, his still-performing band is powerful and tight and very listenable. Big City Rockers, with Tom Hauck and Fred Pineau, then take the stage and do note-for-note Atlantics songs. Although Fred now has grey hair and his band no longer wears light colored shirts with dark thin ties onstage, hearing "Lonely Hearts" again reminds me how great their tunes still are. O Positive sounds as good as they ever did and its cool seeing a young Dave Herlihy give a V-66 interview on the huge stage screens pre-set. I admit I am a little sad when Dave tells me, "no, O Positive isn’t together anymore" with a sly grin. Rods & Cones music is real dance/rock, done great yet very dated, but this graying audience eats it up and after a brief onstage speech by the legendary Arnie Ginsberg, the Fools step up and blow the roof right off of this beautiful, newly-renovated nightclub. The Fools may be the legendary wizards of whimsy but there is nothing funny about great songs and an explosive performance and the Fools deliver bigtime. "It's A Night For Beautiful Girls" and "Life Sucks Then You Die” are both dynamic and it’s easy to get caught up in the moment seeing the huge crowd, fists clenched and punching the air in unison over their heads while shouting "life sucks" with the band. The fact they play "Whipping Post" as an un-anticipated inside joke encore to the aging crowd is very, very funny. And the song rocks! Mike Girard runs around the stage like a lunatic carrying what appeared to be a guitar made of a toilet seat—priceless! Lizzie Borden & the Axes close the night with a typically powerful performance with their most memorable hits. Sadly, neither Lizzie, Heather, Rita, or Cyndie have their big-haircuts anymore. Lizzie says we'd need a case of aerosol hair spray to do it now.
Special thanks to Tim McKenna from Live Nation and D-tension from the HOB. (AJ Wachtel)
- The Noise
Discography
Lizzie Borden & The Axes- Never Found Guilty
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Bio
1980's new wave rock n roll with drive and great harmonies.
Genre: Pop: New Wave
Lizzie Borden & the Axes (LBA) was one of the most important bands to come out of the many punk & new wave groups of the 1980's. They were an all female band that played their own instuments and wrote their own songs. Like the female bands before them, Goldie & the Gingerbeads & Fanny, that paved the way for LBA, Lizzie Borden & the Axes opened doors and set the path for many of the future Girl Bands. Lizzie Borden & the axes played and toured with many well know groups: The Ramones, Spinal Tap, Cheap Trick, Flock of Seagulls, etc.
The songs: out of touch, hearts don't break, how does it feel?, where are you, are produced by Genya Ravan. These songs are well produced and show the essence of LBA.
Lizzie Borden & The Axes have just reunited and just played The House Of Blues and have more upcoming gigs, a new CD and tour.
When talking to Lizzie Borden about this she said " We played and played and played." " I remember one October we played thirty out of the thirty one days."
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