It’s amazing what happens with the passage of time.
People get a bit slower, a little wiser and mellow.
Well none of that was true at the Dead Milkmen show at The Troubadour Saturday night.
The audience was still slam dancing, the sound was still deafening and the Dead Milkmen were still wild and crazy, playing old favorites like “Punk Rock Girl” and “Bitchin’ Camaro.”
The band that came to prominence through the Philadelphia pipeline in the ’80s proved they’ve still got what it takes to draw a crowd and whip them into a frenzy.
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“We followed them from San Francisco,” said Justin and his wife LeAnne who came all the way from Melbourne, Australia, to catch a few Dead Milkmen shows.
“We think they’re radical,” Justin said.
And like the rest of the crowd, Justin also enjoyed the supporting band, Johnny Madcap and The Distractions, who were airborne for much of their performance.
Meanwhile, Gary from Philadelphia, a die-hard Dead Milkmen fan, said he had been looking forward to actually meeting the band members in person. He got his chance.
“I can’t believe how cool they are,” he said.
Gary purchased a limited edition poster and then had Dean Clean and the rest of the gang sign it for him outside The Troubadour. The band toured to promote Pretty Music for Pretty People.
The West Hollywood club has had its share over the years of wild acts, but the guys at the door still were not taking any chances with this particular audience.
“These are the kind of people who really like to have a great time in the pit,” said one of the doormen. “We don’t like to take any chances — we make sure there’s no chains – no wallets on a chain — and other things aren’t allowed inside.”
It’s not that the guys at The Troubadour expect any problems, it’s just that things can get carried away when you’ve got big guys, leaner guys — and a few gals thrown in — all moshing around in the pit.
And of course when you have a guy like frontman Rodney Anonymous coaxing the audience to go crazy on command, it’s one pretty funny scene.
After the show, a sweat-soaked guy known only as Kevin, said he really enjoyed the evening after getting his fill of shoving, pushing, dancing, screaming and running around.
“Hey look I’m 42,” Kevin said. “You know, you gotta conserve your energy for a night like this. It was good clean fun. You know what I mean. I don’t think I’m gonna be waking up early tomorrow, let’s put it that way.”
Kevin did say however that he appreciated the great interference work The Troubadour staffers performed during the night.
“You know there’s always some big fat guy running around with no shirt,” Kevin said.”Then you got the guy who wants to start something. There’s always one or two. I really have to thank The Troubadour people for keeping it fun out there. Because that’s what it’s all about.”
Madcap Johnny and The Distractions were an appropriate opener and we look forward to good things from this LA-based band. Madcap and his crew will play Punk Rock Bowling in Vegas May 22-25.
