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Psycho November Denmark's Nekomantix cancels U.S. tour; Tiger Army steps in to fill the psychobilly void By David Espinoza For a band that prides itself on delivering B-movie vampire and werewolf-inspired nocturnal rock & roll (as most psychobilly bands do), Denmark's Nekromantix has canceled its November U.S. tour. The significance? The only NorCal show was to take place in Santa Cruz. Rumor has it, the Nekros got cold feet about flying overseas, what with recent world events. That leaves Hellcat Records' Tiger Army to satisfy all psychobilly needs for the month of November. The trio's sophomore release, Power of Moonlite, is a fierce follow-up to its 1999 debut, with galloping stand-up slap-bass action and more hard-core vocals (frontman Nick 13 clearly has been taking cues from longtime friend Davey Havok of AFI). Tiger Army has benefited from having original AFI bassist Geoff Kresge (arguably the best songwriter AFI ever had) and drummer London May permanently on board, as for sometime, the project was primarily all Nick 13. Tiger Army opens for the Dropkick Murphys and Sick of It All Friday Nov. 2 at the Catalyst--bring your strongest pair of boots. Former Dropkick Murphys touring partners the Bouncing Souls will hit the Vets Hall Nov. 5--but the connection doesn't stop there: the Murphys' more refined contemporary, Flogging Molly, will be accompanying the Souls for this "True Believers Tour 2001." Death Rock Devils Psychobilly bands may think themselves pretty hard when it comes to death rock, but Seattle's Murder City Devils makes them all look like monster-mash Halloween kiddies. Earlier this year, the death-fetish septet walked offstage barely half an hour into their set at a San Jose club after lead vocalist Spencer Moody decided the audience members were being assholes. (For the record, it looked like Moody started the shoving match.) The redeeming part of the all-too-brief show was Moody giving a shout out to everyone who drove over the hill from Santa Cruz. Well, the Devils are coming back to SC for one last round with the audience and hopefully they'll play longer. Joining them will be Lookout Records foursome American Steel as well as local Circle Jerks en español hombres Los Dryheavers. The big news here is after four wicked albums (Thelema being the latest) and four wicked years of mutilated and bloody rock & roll, the Murder City Devils are calling it quits. The official line is that the band is breaking up to work on recreating the TV show Zoom--there's probably much more to it than that. Quickies I caught the tail end of Utah Phillips' and Rosalie Sorrels' first set last Saturday at the Rio Theatre and wished I had arrived sooner. Phillips has always been more than a folk guitarist storyteller with a social conscience--he's a bona fide historian of the American left. ... With Estradasphere's usual stomping ground, Palookaville, closed (owner 2B1 Productions, a.k.a. Maritime Hall, has also gone under), the quintet settled into the Vets Hall Friday for its CD-release party of Buck Fever. Surrounded by legions of fans, the Estradas put on a show that was part spectacle and very rich in musical textures. [ Santa Cruz Week | Metroactive Home | Archives ]