SATURDAY JUNE 5

(on Cleveland's own )


9:30 PM.

At the (specifically, the Tavern), witness the sweat, panic, soul and smartassery of the New Lou Reeds as they open for The Sights (Detroit) and Thee Shams (Cincinnati) on Saturday, June 5th.

Please note that everyone and anyone who mentions this email is entitled to a $5 cover, which is a discount from the usual $7. We know it ain't much, but hey, ya gotta eat.

The Sights mix up traditional British Invasion R&B with punk rock energy. And somehow, they've slipped underneath the radar of The Big Detroit Rock Movement, which may be good or bad, depending on one's point of view. We have been told, however, that they do indeed bring some rock action to the party.

Thee Shams have altogether driven out of the garage and gotten lost in that murky terrain where psychedelia meets the Delta blues. First, they started in the shadows of the Greenhornes' Animals/Yardbirds tribute; now they've grown more facial hair, exchanged flannel for hipsterwear, and at this point aren't afraid to toss in a lysergic fuzztone solo into their near-Sabbathian chug. The girls'll still dance, alright, but the freaks, heads and stoners will cough out loud the praises of Thee Shams and if you're close enough to get a second-hand high from their rock and roll, you will too. Listen to from their new record, Please Yourself.

If the Voidoids and their New York brethren had discovered the joys of Southern Boogie Rock, we think they'd sound more or less like the New Lou Reeds. We suspect that in their heyday, the 13th Floor Elevators may have enjoyed the musical company of the New Lou Reeds. Had that in fact happened, the NLRs would have ended up with fizzled brains and yogi robes at an ashram/asylum in upstate New York, circa the early 70s. This did not happen, however, and we're pleased to say that not only are New Lou Reeds alive and kicking, but they have t-shirts (get your Gyro George on), CDs (their debut, Screwed), songs about food in, politics ("Exploit Me"), the futility of income ("Poverty Stinks") and the oppressive power of the Ohio State Police as featured in . You can also hear the New Lou Reeds using streaming audio from one of America's most beloved independent radio stations, WFMU.org. The show is Terre T's fabulous . Check out the archives and you might even hear and see Cleveland bands like the furious and the shroomified hard rock of the .

Thank you kindly.

NLRs