Strange times

A couple of nights ago I returned home from work, grabbed my camera and headed over to the Atomic Rooster to see what the Rock'n'Roll Pizza Party had to offer. But when I got there, no band could be seen bopping in the window - upon closer examination, the tables were still in place and a lone DJ was spinning discs where usually there's be a drum kit and sundry other instruments taking up space. It was then that I realized it was Wednesday. So I went home. Last night I came home from work, and once again set off for the Atomic Rooster. Upon arrival, it seemed that once again their was a distinct shortage of instruments on what passes for a stage. Hmm, could they have scheduled Wednesday twice in a row? Well, as it turns out the Terrible Twos' arrival was delayed, so until they got there, one could only watch the Calgary Flames battle the Vancouver Canucks. Fortunately, after a short while a procession of amplifiers and drums emerged from the kitchen and it was time to be rocked and socked by a one-two punch of Detroit weirdo rock.

The Terrible Twos were up first - a herky-jerky electro quintet of the nervous type. They made me think of fellow Detroit nutters The Piranhas. Their fifth guitarist is off to the right - that's White Wires drummer Allie Hanlon performing emergency kit repairs


The Terrible Twos, The Atomic Rooster, October 1, 2009

Human Eye played next ... names like Afflicted Man, George Bridgman, Michael Yonkers and Chrome were running through my head as they performed. Frontman Tommy Lampinen was once Tim Vulgar of The Clone Defects, and Human Eye continues that band's tradition of weirdly twisted punk noise.


Human Eye, The Atomic Rooster, October 1, 2009

As things wound down Timmy put on his space alien getup. I'm not sure who's really to blame for this, but I suspect Cthulu (or perhaps Dagon) is at least partly involved.


Human Eye, The Atomic Rooster, October 1, 2009

A nice ear-and-mindbender of a show.

• Show reminder: Chang-A-Lang, The Suppositories and The Girlfriends redecorate the basement at 279 Flora; Amy Millan and Bahamas perform at Zaphod's; Monkeyjunk play Irene's; the Elmdale House hosts Aquicksmoke.