Concert Review:
Dangerous and Sexy Quintuple Bill Overtakes Clearview

by Gary Cohen

DEEP ELLUM — Saturday night’s entertaining quintuple-bill at Club Clearview showed that the local music scene, if nothing else, has become more stylistically varied than in years past.  Five of the area’s up-and-coming bands put on a solid show, yet each band was distinctly different from the others (and in the cases of Honchie and Lazer, distinctly different from pretty much every other band on the planet).

Garage rock band The Valentines led off, albeit surprisingly since the band wasn’t actually on the advertised four-band bill.  Next up was the rock/soul fusion of 3 am Live, led by talented guitar player and lead singer Derek Harris.  Their solid set was punctuated by a cover of “Voodoo Chile,” with Harris channeling Hendrix. 3 am Live was followed by Man Factory, whose bouncy pop/rock didn’t consistently connect with the audience. Man Factory is a young band with potential, but in order to take the next step the group needs to focus on more sophisticated songwriting and better technical mastery of their instruments.

Once Man Factory completed their set, the crowd swelled in size in anticipation of Lazer, who took the stage to “Lazer Party Countdown” and immediately had the audience’s full attention. Of course, many of these people had their mouths and eyes wide open, not quite believing what they were seeing.  Onstage were (a) two men wearing nothing but Speedos rapping in a foreign accent, (b) a bass player with a television over his head, (c) a cigarette-smoking ninja guitar player, and (d) a stoic man in a military uniform and furry hat holding a crow.

For the uninitiated, Lazer is the dangerous and sexy duo of Hammel and Briso, who moved to the Dallas area from the “Rhineland.” Their live band also consists of a drummer, new bass player CRT-2000 (presumably, “CRT” stands for Cathode Ray Tube) and guitarist Ice von Shredula, who is considered to be “among the best” ninja guitarists in the area.  As a security precaution, bodyguard and crow keeper King Jon stands in the middle of the stage holding the Lazer Crow, which, according to legend, has a laser eye. You do NOT want to anger the Lazer Crow.

As a concession to the cold weather, Hammel and Briso did not take the stage in their customary Speedos. Instead, Briso wore a new red and yellow Speedo, serving as a “metaphor for fire,” and, in honor of the NBA All-Star Game, Hammel wore a warm-up suit and Dirk Nowitzki jersey over his Speedo. Of course, he later ditched everything but the Speedo to reveal his full sexiness.

Lazer’s set moved through the full gamut of human emotions: exhiliaration (“Get Up For The Get Down”), seriousness (“Dance For Racism”), danger (“Lazer Crow”), sexiness (“Night Moves”) and sadness (“Fragile Ears”). The latter song was touchingly performed in honor of deceased former bandmate Keinhorst, with cigarette lighters held up by the crowd throughout the club.  Overall, the performance was on a par, at the very least, with Led Zeppelin circa 1974. Or perhaps Spinal Tap circa 1984.

Once the crowd recovered from Lazer’s onslaught, headliner Honchie took the stage.  Almost impossible to classify, Honchie plays an intentionally over-the-top blend of hard rock, hip-hop and soul, with pretty much every other musical style thrown in for good measure. Lead singer and bassist Doug Krause fronts the band, with keyboardist Chuck Stephenson adding arena-rock flair for drama.  The band is very competent technically, bouncing back and forth between styles without missing a beat.

The key to Honchie’s appeal is Krause’s ability to sing the band’s absurd lyrics with a straight face, with the band all the while playing with the earnestness of U2.  Whether bemoaning that the bitch stole his liquor (“Bitch Stole My Liquor”), covering Elton John’s “Rocket Man” while wearing a fake mullet (“Mullet Man”), or soulfully begging for a specific kind of carnal love, Krause sings with a Springsteen-like seriousness.  Honchie played a number of tracks off their debut album Deathfists of Rage, as well as several new songs. 

All in all, a solid night of music. Five promising bands, plus Speedos and fake mullets – what else do you need for $8?