Cats Are Grey

Boss Hog is a “scuzz-rock” group made up of Christina Martinez (Pussy Galore) on vocals, her husband Jon Spencer (Blues Explosion, Pussy Galore) on guitar/vocals, Jens Jurgensen on bass, Hollis Queens on drums and Mark Boyce on keyboards. Last Wednesday, after buying a new hat on the NY side of the Path train, Jen and I ventured into Hoboken to see the first Boss Hog show in seven years.

Maxwell’s is very quickly becoming my favorite place to see live music. We got there early so we grabbed a quick bite at the restaurant part of the club. Jen had a delicious chili and I had the crab cake appetizer which came with two dipping sauces; one an excellent tarter sauce and the other a mango chutney kind of thing. Wonderful!

Then we entered the music area where Talk Normal opened up with some noise rock type noise played in the dark save for a single red light. There was also a saxophone I think although it was hard to see. Also, another plus for Maxwell’s, they have these bleacher style seats up against the wall. Not only can you sit down, you can also stand up on the tallest ones to see over the crowd! Jen and I sat for Talk Normal as there was not yet much of a crowd. Check out Talk Normal’s MySpace page. They are pretty great.

We left our bleacher spots in between bands and took a place near the front of the stage. Boss Hog came out and played an amazing, loud, energetic and fun set. About halfway through two shirtless guys started jumping up and down in front and a little bald dude started screaming lyrics and “I miss the ’90s.” Tim Griffin took some excellent pictures for Brooklyn Vegan in which you can see the shirtless guys, the little bald guy and my new hat if you look carefully enough.

Boss Hog sounded great and played a really tight set. It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 or 8 years between shows. They went on to play ATPs Nightmare Before Christmas festival in Minehead, England with the scariest looking people in rock. They’ll be playing Bowery Ballroom on the 17th. I highly recommend seeing them.

As for the drawing, I think my brain went from “A Nightmare Before Christmas” to “A Nightmare On Elm Street” to “Friday The 13th.” So, you’ve got Jason Voorhes (Friday The 13th) chasing Christina Martinez (a bluebird) and Jon Spencer (a dog) after he’s disposed of Jens Jurgensen (also a dog), Mark Boyce (a pig) and Hollis Queens (a queen angel fish). Where are their bodies? I don’t know.

For your listening pleasure, I present the Boss Hog song Defender (from the Old School 7 inch) and their cover of The Kinks’ I’m Not Like Everybody Else (from the soundtrack to SubUrbia).
Here are the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion B-Side tracks Let’s Smerf (from the 2 Kindsa Love 7 inch) and Give Ya Some Hell (from the Heavy 7 inch).
And, everyone’s favorite Pussy Galore song, their cover of Einstürzende Neubauten’s Yu Gung (off Sugarshit Sharp)!