ST VALENTINE’S DAY MASSACRE – Niagara & The Hitmen (Steel Cage Records/Savage Beat)
Sure, Radio Birdman might have been the first band in Australia to play “TV Eye,” but relations between the Birdmen having scuttled their latest reunion, Chris “Klondike” Masuak’s subsequent band the Hitmen remain Oz’s longest-lived purveyors of Detroit ramalama. And while eccentric art brawd Niagara’s blasé brand of Nancy Sinatra-styled vocalismo might not be everybody’s cuppa tea, she’s got genuine Detroit cred from her service in Ron Asheton’s post-Stooges outfits Destroy All Monsters and Dark Carnival. So when she found herself Down Under for an art exhibit in 2007, it was a no-brainer for them to hook up, which they did for the solitary 2008 pub show in the Sydney ‘burbs where this was recorded.Head Hitman Johnny Kannis makes the introduction, then the band kicks off the Bo Diddley thump that begins “Little Doll,” with Klondike’s fuzz and wah in full effect; you can imagine Uncle Ronnie smiling really big, off in the Great Beyond. A cloud of feedback leads into the telegraphic intro to Destroy All Monsters’ “You’re Gonna Die,” with Masuak dutifully pealing off the Asheton signature that I understand you people call “The Lick,” before breaking it down with extemporizations of his own. He and guitar foil Tony Jukic make the transition into “I Love You But You’re Dead” with some blistering dual-lead action; the paint must have been peeling off the walls of the Crest Hotel that night.
The Hitmen allow scarcely a second for the crowd to catch its collective breath before stomping into the Stooges’ “Real Cool Time,” Tony Robertson’s bass and new boy Murray Shepherd’s traps leading the charge as the guitar tandem aims for the stratosphere. Niagara berates the band boys for ending the song too soon, so they resume the mayhem, only to get faded out in the recording. One wonders. Niagara’s DAM zenith “Bored” is up next, with the Hitmen’s assaultive attack surpassing the original.
“I Died A Thousand Times” recycles the first Stooges album’s Diddleyismo, with a campy-dark, Alice Cooperesque lyric that concludes, “Life ain’t for sissies.” True dat. “Anyone Can Fuck Her,” er, comes with an inspirational sing-along chorus. “TV Eye” is the godhead. Then the folks who put this together saw fit to fill it out with a coupla Hitmen toons, including the unreleased “Another Lost Weekend” – a nice Dictators homage - and a coupla vids for your edification and enjoyment.
Sure, there have been finer crafted records released this year, but for unbridled excitement and face-melting guitar abandon, you just can’t top this. And a finer tribute to Ron Asheton would be hard to imagine – debt paid in full. Spin this one back to back with Funhouse and New Race’s The First and the Last, and render a salute to a fallen rock ‘n’ roll soldier. - Ken Shimamoto
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