Eagles Of Death Metal & The Hives @ The Mayan

Drummers are hot. That is a fact. Another is that I just moved to Los Angeles so The Willowz/Eagles Of Death Metal/The Hives was actually my first real show here. And what a show it was. Yes it took me forever to find the Mayan even with my friendly GPS but I guess driving anywhere here is an adventure in itself. By the way, traffic in Downtown LA can eat my balls. If I had any balls in the first place that is.

First up was The Willowz. Yes I've heard of them, or more specifically their drummer Loren thanks to the Buddyhead grapevine, but I'd never really heard anything from them - I come from a great mysterious land down under where we don't have cosy little club shows for great little US bands. Was a pleasant surprise, bluesy & rocking, short but to the point, with enough kick to start events off nicely. Dug the songs, sounded together & the chick bassist was kickass. Chicks are cool. All in all a nice introduction to a surprisingly good outfit. Richie could probably use a burger though. So be nice, support a great little band & feed the kids.

Next was the reason I drove through 2 hours of traffic. Eagles Of Death Metal. Which calls for the next fact - Jesse Hughes is unbelievably sexy. I honestly never thought I'd say that of a man not only sporting greaser hair, looking like an extra from Happy Days, but who has balls enough to top off the look with a 'tache that puts David Crosby's to shame. Oozing confidence, he gyrates & croons, making girls swoon, all hips & testosterone soaked swagger. Like the illegitimate child of an Elvis, Little Richard & Mick Jagger threeway. Or something to that effect. Strap on a classy white Maton & in short, he makes everyone want a piece of the action. And a cigarette for afterwards. I swear if I were a little drunker I'd have thrown my underwear at him like some other smitten girl did. Superb.

Sure, you know when it's the last night of a tour, you're in LA, the place is packed & the night before was the Devil's birthday; something's a little special is going to come up. The crowd was expecting big things & were rewarded with not only one Josh Homme (aka Baby Duck - the greatest alias ever) but with the wonderful bonus of Joey Castillo. And this was no skin swapping gimmick but two hands working as one hell of a solid team. Shit was better than sex - and with less cleanup involved. Joey hits hard, I swear you feel his every strike ricochet off your ribcage. And while Josh Homme may be one of the most charismatic characters around, it comes as a bit of a surprise that he's a smooth, down to business drummer. No grandstanding, no banter, just getting the job done. But with a consumate showman like Hughes out front I guess it's hard to try to wrestle any form of attention away anyway.

As always Dave Catching is a wonderfully quirky presence which automatically makes him a hero of mine. Striking some classic 'rockstarrr' poses he carved out his own space stage right & owned it with style. Somewhat embarrassingly I was wearing the exact same outfit as their bassist Brian - except I guess I accessorised mine with breasts. Felt that maybe I should have stuck around & bought him a drink for that little faux pas.


Guys with accents are hot. True, I'm an Australian in the US so everyone has an accent but just like christmas, it's the thought that counts. And so we come to another fun fact - The Hives are Swedish, hence, they have accents.

I haven't heard of The Hives since I was 18 or thereabout - yes I'm ignorant & no, I don't really give a damn that I let my interest in them slip away some 4 years ago. Sorry, I was busy doing shit. Apparently they had an album drop last year but you really wouldn't have known it from the show they played - seemed as if there were probably only 3-4 "new" songs, or at least, songs I hadn't heard off their previous releases; don't get all specific on me. But hold back, that's not saying it was bad - it was quite honestly a breathtaking show & even as I type I'm filling my ipod with as many of their songs as will fit on the little silver demon. Slick, tastefully tailored & tight as a nun's snatch, frankly they rocked a lot more than I think they deserved to for a band I admittedly discarded along with that season's shoes. Which I suppose is girl talk for a damn good job guys. Points for the matching white suits & red neon sign too.

They all have ridiculous names they go by which frankly I can't remember & can't be assed to look up. But their drummer was ace, the dude goes through sticks like a hooker goes through dime-store rubbers. Pretty sure he must have been a trick bartender at some stage; all kinds of shit went flying into the air. Pseudo epileptic guitarist with shoelace issues was entertaining - shouldn't he know to knot that shit by now? But you can forgive the guy after laying down the Hendrix moves to much applause. Yet front & centre is where the action is, lying squarely with a dude named Pelle. You can see why the guy is on a few 'greatest frontmen' kind of lists - the kid's like an electric shock, something he told the audience numorous times & lived up to through the night. Flinging himself from one side of the stage to the other, microphone whirling maniacally, pushing himself bodily into the front row; you got to taste his sweat & knew he was serious - there's guy who knows how to manage one hell of an energetic performance & just keeps on shining. One point though, dude needs to learn to use his inside voice when speaking. It's like 2 hours after the show & something he said about LA or giant purple buses or cosmetic dentistry is still echoing around my skull cavity.

So to recap -
1. Drummers are hot.
2. I just moved here. Don't shoot/mug/run over me.
3. Jesse Hughes can probably father children with a well aimed look.
4. The Hives are much better than I gave them credit for.


Top score of the night has to go to Eagles though - and not just because I caught Dave wandering around taking photos after their set. Nice guy. Nice tie. And also not because Jesse flashed some flesh - us girls love that shit. It's because they did their thing & just rocked. Period. And that's what it's all about isn't it?