The Baltimore boys of Summer, together again, and much closer to the
water than their usual pairing at the Tat on Belair Road. Actually,
the precious Diamonds were here at the funky Monkey in June, but it's
rad when the two best outfits of the genre share the stage. As the
t-shirt suggests, that's hangin' ten - and then some!
The Diamondheads play it close to the bone. Straight up surf. The
cards on the table. This is the real deal - you dig it or you don't.
Surf instrumentals, dripping with reverb. As Jeff Spicoli, ever the
sage, says, "All I need is a cool buzz and a tasty wave."
The four Hawaiian - shirted members of this band give you both. When
they went on at about 10:30, my cool buzz was still diminutive to
allow for coherent notes, so here's the set list...
George Harrison/John Lennon's obscurity "Cry For A Shadow"
followed a couple of new opening jams, so new that even I was
unfamiliar with the instros. Dave's "Home Alone" preceded
"Hammerhead" before band leader / guitarist Brian announced
a cover "from the way back machine", an obscurity apparently
pulled from the same machine as Link Wray's "Steel Trap".
The wittily titled originals "Surf West, Young Man" and
"English Channel Surfing" were interrupted by loco hombres
Los Straitjackets' "Pacifica". "Midnite" is The
Diamondheads token "slow dance". "Bonehead" is
certainly not - nor is the inevitable Dick Dale classic we rode to the
fifteenth and final song, another new jam.
The Swivomatics have been playing similar sets as well, but have a few
years on the openers to qualify their strictly headliner status. Which
disqualifies inclusion of a set list from this scribe, as my fingers
were dysfunctional by the midnight starting time. In lieu of details,
I can convey more noteworthy news. The Swivs have only one piece of
plastic to show, and it was released four years ago. While their
garagey formula hasn't been altered or diluted since then, they
finally have a second release forthcoming in the fall. You can bet
you'll see my name under the review in these very pages before the
weather gets too cold. In the meantime, summer's almost gone. Go sea
some surf!
