PLASMA BLAST with CAFFEINE at Lee’s Palace, November 16. Tickets: $8. Attendance: 60. Rating: NNN Rating: NNNNN
whether they’ll ever rock sta-diums is debatable, but you can bet the heavily inked bruisers in local garage/glam squad Plasma Blast will continue kicking out the jams no matter what. Playing to a nearly empty dance floor at Lee’s Palace Thursday – well, empty if you didn’t count the clique-y army of glam groupies snapping pictures of the stage and vogueing – the foursome stomped out their ragged, Bud-soaked corkers like their asses were on fire.
Mike-stand-abusing screamer Marcus Ireland and his rawk-trash twin, guitarist Steve Scarlet, were especially menacing – think Iggy and Ron Asheton five lines into their evening – but despite the raunch, you always had the sense they were having a great time and were just stoked to be playing, though they’d doubtless agree that having an audience is always nice.
An inflated bottle of Jim Beam at stage left, graciously provided by Plasma Blast’s corporate sponsors, gave way to gags and myriad plug opportunities throughout. With drummer and Muppet Animal ringer Jeff Easy Money and bassist/vocalist Neko Sewer holding down the set’s frame, Scarlet and Ireland could scribble outside the lines with feral abandon. And they did.
Word is, the group is doing sessions with Ian Blurton. If the producer can capture half their sneering bombast, there’s much to look forward to.
