The Chuck Hestons and Suspicious at Alchemy

The Chuck Hestons and Suspicious at Alchemy - 9/13/06

These Wednesday nights at Alchemy are strange. It's always funny to see one of the regulars come in and look confused at all the weirdos.
The Uncomfortables played first. It was immemorable punk-aggregate stuff. The Presidential Targets played next. They seem like the kind of band that got together 30 years ago when they were teenagers and thought it would be fun to start a band, but never grew out of it. Adolescent humor and adolescent music.
Suspicious are two girls from Berlin, Germany who play guitar to a backing rhythm track. It was their first night on the American tour and they had trouble with the electrical conversion. Eventually, they got it together and played using borrowed amps, but still kept blowing out the p.a. In spite of all the trouble, they put on a pretty great show. It was punky new wave and girl-group pop with an industrial backbeat. They were aggressive and engaging and at one point, when the p.a. had blown, they insisted that DJ Eric "e-bomb" Bruce (aka Vince Vaughn*) play an X-Ray Spex song and they danced around on the bar, singing along.
I'm disappointed in New Haven as a whole for not showing more support for The Chuck Hestons. They're certainly one of the most creative and interesting bands around. For shame. They played last and pretty much played for me, the Suspicious girls and Eric Bruce. That didn't stop them from playing whole-heartedly, though. They played as well for nobody as they did when they packed Rudy's and I respect that.

* Is Vince Vaughn king of the douchebags, or is he a douchebag parodist? Is he promoting or mocking douchbaggery? Where does that leave The E-Bomb?

Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldangelmidnight/sets/72157594296356980/

etc.
http://www.myspace.com/theuncomfortablesusa
http://www.myspace.com/presidentialtargets
http://www.myspace.com/suspiciousgirls
http://www.myspace.com/thechuckheston