Verlichte Geest, Roeselare
2010-12-07

The gig to put Sleazenation on the map finally arrived! Hollywood heroes Pretty Boy Floyd and LA Guns playing one of the shows, must have been a dream come true...

Just about everything went perfectly smooth this evening, thanks to the people behind the scenes (bar owner, bartenders, anyone who helped out), the great bands and the awesome turnout. Thanks again!

SleekStain delivered the first surprise of the evening. This must have been one of the most fitting, best opening bands on the Sleazenation gigs. They looked the part, they played fucking great and left me wanting more. I'm not even going to mention any negative points to their gigs, because they did nothing less than great.

Vernez was next, with the venue slowly filling for the two big ones coming up. They play a style of rock that didn't fit the otherwise upbeat bill, but did so with great enthousiasm and musical knowledge. I have to give them credit for warming up the crowd and getting everyone nice and pumped for what came next.

The two opening bands each played a great set, but had to make way eventually, because we had rock royalty coming up shortly.

By this time, the place was packed and heating up quickly. The perfect time to get Pretty Boy Floyd on-stage...

Playing almost only songs from the "Leather Boyz With Electric Toyz" album, this is the dream-set for any fan of the Floyds.

Unnecessary to sum up what they played, we got all the classics and then some. Steve 'Sex' Summers worked the crowd like a pro (which, actually, he is...), shaking hands and passing the mic and booze around. By this time, the evening started to look like the ideal gig it was.

I was a bit confused, thinking that Pretty Boy Floyd would finish that night, instead of LA Guns, but it worked out for the best. And their Beastie Boys cover was more the party song than the original is. What more can I say, they're up on the highest level and took us all along for the big tour. Priceless!

After this performance, I was left wondering how LA Guns would ever top Pretty Boy Floyd.

Here's what they did: opening up with "Electric Gypsy". Nothing more was needed to get their rock n' roll machine rolling. Jizzy sang like a madman, surprising me as to how much his voice matches the Guns, Tracii played his nuts off, as did the rest of the band.

"The Ballad Of Jayne" and "Over The Edge" followed, confirming just how good this band is, but then they did something that put them way up on my list.

The second part of their show was dedicated to more than just their own stuff. "Spinning Wheel" and "Blackout In The Red Room" are two Love/Hate songs I've been dying to hear for a long long time, "I Just Wanna Have Something To Do" was the most fitting Ramones cover for them, and the Guns' own "One More Reason", "No Mercy" and "Rip And Tear" were dragging us to the big finish.

"Sex Action" concluded the night, leaving everyone big-eyed and not believing what just happened, including myself. I don't have the words to describe how I felt when leaving the show, but if more gigs like this one follow: sign me up!