FRIDAY PICKS
The Weird Lovemakers: No bio, no glossy, and one hand-scrawled tape from Tucson. Aging, curmudgeon writer is handed said lack-of-glitz and POW! Bloody Great Punk Rock! Like Big Boys great. Like Decendents and Black Flag great. Like The Dammned great. Really. The Weird Lovemakers make some of the best punk rock I've heard in. like, 20 years. (Trophy's, 9pm) - Kate X Messer

The Weird Lovemakers live at Trophy's, Friday March 14
By 9pm the lines at the Continental were already swelling, which made us so damn happy to be down the raod a piece at Trophy's on South Congress. The local watering hole filled the vacuum left by Austin's late and much-lamented Outhouse as the SXSW venue for the disenfranchised and sick-of-Sixth-Street. In a simialrly charming, unassuming way, Trophy's was the prime place to see a goofy nerd-punk combo from Tucson, Arizona. Named for an old Sizties sexploitation Beyond the Valley of the Faster Pussycat-style flick, the four piece Weird Lovemakers garnered "Best Alternative Band" in the Tucson Weekly's "Best of" issue. This showcase showed why. Here they were, Tucson's favorite fucked-up sons, playing for a smallish (50? 60? people) crowd at a "venue" most folks in town don't know to be friendly to this type of energetic splat. Ans splat they did. Their particular brand of splat isn't anything you haven't heard before, particularly if your brain is imbued with the Damned, Devo or Descendents, etc. But despite the obvious hook, line and sinker refernces, the Weird Lovemakers played full-on, balls-out punk rock, like Lollapalooza never happened and never should have. So, will folks who receive their signals like these via complete shit radio dookie like Green Day and who think that punk had it's day and then it's second day, comprehend what's special about a little punk band that could, but doesn't go for gimmicks, funny outfits, or smearing/spitting anything on either themselves or the audience? Hmmmmmmm. Thei subtle, yet glorious night, the Weird Lovemakers proved that it just doesn't matter. - Kate X Messer