On a sweltering night in Las Vegas, Hi-Tide Recordings artists The Greasy Gills and The Surfrajettes brought the cool sounds of instrumental surf-rock to the desert and turned a dusty saloon into a rocking Tiki bar for a few sweet hours. With reverb set to wet, the guitars rode bravely inside tidal waves of rhythm and both bands ventured into new areas with their classic styles. First up, The Greasy Gills shifted between the crashing waves of their native California and the roar of hot rods burning up the local drag. Sam Benedetti (bass) and Grace Malley (drums) are a formidable pair that lock in tightly no matter how fast the songs are racing. This allows guitarist Jordan Steer to shred like a tornado. It was surf-rock filtered through a psychobilly mindset and it was so naturally cool that the band didn’t need to say a word to the audience.
Headlining the night, Toronto’s The Surfrajettes proved that no amount of hype about the band’s look and style could overshadow their music. Mixing an eclectic batch of covers into a set of sharp originals kept the audience enthralled from the moment they took the stage in matching gold dresses and go-go boots. Guitarists Nicole Damoff and Shermy Freeman exquisitely weave in and out of each other’s playing to create a swirling tone that seems effortless but few bands make better use of two guitars. Rather than focusing on a retro-style focused on sunshine and fun, The Surfrajettes allow a riptide of post-punk sadness to occasionally pull at your feet. On a sparkling cover of new wave gem “Echo Beach” (Martha & the Muffins), there was a longing for the lost innocence of youth that surf-rock once embodied. A dark take on “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones echoed that emotion and even their calling-card, an undeniable cover of Brtiney Spears’ “Toxic”, sounded slightly dangerous yet effervescent.
With nowhere to go in the tiny saloon, the crowd insisted on an encore and the band joked that there were only so many surf-rock songs in the ocean before delighting everyone with one more tune. The frantic rush to the merch stand to buy 7” singles and posters spoke volumes about how much people connected to both bands. The old-school grind of setting up your own gear, playing a set, and then hawking your merchandise as you step off stage isn’t an easy lifestyle but The Greasy Gills and The Surfrajettes are continuing in a rock-n-roll tradition that will never fade away. Is the world ready for another surf-rock boom? It would be great to see the genre re-surface in popular culture but, for now, the cool kids know where to find it.
