Marcos of RNRAK. All photos by Ben
I don’t know much about Rock N Roll Adventure Kids other the band is just two dudes, they’re from California, and they deal primarily in “trashrock,” drawing influence from bands like The Cramps, The Stooges, Hasil Adkins and so on. Heck, I didn’t even know they were playing in town until Friday morning, and that’s why you’ll see no mention of this show in the Sept. 11 GO! Magazine.
I know more now. Namely, that this band slays. RNRAK leveled Players last night with a hurricane of campy garage-punk fury. The band only played 30 minutes (maybe less), but that was plenty of time for songs about fried chicken and hot dogs (multiple songs about hot dogs, actually), and plenty of time for guitarist/screamer Marcos to flail around the bar — not just the stage, but just about the whole bar — like he was trying to start a pit. It’s tough to start a pit when there are only 10 people scattered around watching, but a couple of guys banged around with him. One got twisted up in his guitar cord. Marcos never missed a note.
The guitar cord ensnares Marcos from RNRAK and some dude.
As you can see in the photos, Marcos wore only a pair of jean shorts. Perhaps he’s a never-nude. Billy, the drummer, appeared to be a little grumpy all night. When the band shut down, the pit-helper guys asked for more, but Billy headed for the van. “He’s feeling under the weather,” Marcos said.
They were a ton of fun, as was the opening act, a trio from Denmark called De Høje Hæle, which means The High Heels. These young fellas focused less on the trash and the histrionics, and more on rocking out, power-punk-pop style. They were totally charming, announcing their songs in what I assume was Danish, and then translating for us. The guitarist wore a Led Zeppelin T-shirt and the bassist a Batman hat. And they had actual cassette tapes for sale at the merch table!
Now for a few more visuals. (In the next few days, I’ll throw even more up on Frequency’s Flickr pool.)
Rock N Roll Adventure Kids
Marcos of RNRAK rocks out on the dance floor as the small crowd looks on.
Marcos of RNRAK shares the mic with a fan ... or maybe just a guy that was at Players.
Is High Heels bassist Myre about to jab his bass into my camera?
High Heels guitarist Magnus rocks out at Players.
