Germs in NYC Live, Actor From E.R. on Vocals! Don't Have a Cow!

It's just about 25 years to the day since they last played, as well as the anniversary week of Darby Crash's OD, but lo and behold, news hit last week that LA's legendary Germs were reuniting for two sets at Continental on December 10th (with appropriate openers the Magik Markers, whom we've extolled about in the past). Almost everyone I mentioned this to bristled in horror when it was revealed that joining Lorna Doom, Don Bolles and Pat Smear would be actor Shane West, of ER TV show fame, and also the guy who happens to be playing Darby in the forthcoming Germs biopic What We Do Is Secret. West, who looks like a young, even more All-American version of Tim Robbins, had his hands full to be sure, I mean, considering Darby was a speed-times-heroin-times-alcohol-drenched trainwreck on stage, barely coherent through the band's chaotic assault, and, needless to say, an extremely huge reason the Germs were the Germs. Live, West threw himself into the role and had a fairly good invocation of Darby, though a somewhat straight Darby. Smear's guitar (which had been keeping busy in the 90's with Nirvana and Foo Fighters) sounded awesome, slicing, buzzing and riffing his way through a big chunk of the Germs' catalog, Bolles pounded away on twin kick in his SS hat and platform shoes, and Lorna (who, by the way, was SO incredibly nice when I met her!) held down the steady, yet weird and woozy basslines that were a huge trademark of their songs. Throughout, Smear, Bolles and Doom were smiling incessantly like lunatics; this was the first time they had played as the Germs in New York, and they couldn't have looked happier.

The crowd too was totally into it, despite the unavoidable initial heckling of West. He immediately marked his turf and by the second number "Lexicon Devil" was broiling in the mosh pit and giving crap back to anyone who offered it, while clearly enjoying himself. Most of set one was pretty much consisted of tear-it-up straightforward hardcore numbers, while set two definitely had a more acid-soaked, freeform-n-fucked up element to it, and it was here that the dark, disturbed nihilism that set the Germs' music far ahead of many other punks clicks into sharpest focus. Right from the getgo, some kid grabbed the mic off West before he could get two words out, taking over the song, and when West asked for a beer he got doused with one almost immediately. As the set progressed, his formerly well-paced and clear vocals started to turn into the more damaged side of Darby, what sounded like "My Tunnel" was marked with garbled, out of time slobbering, cutting mics and more gobbledygook ensued through "Richie Dagger's Crime", "What We Do Is Secret", and finally into the detuned plane crash of "Shut Down (Annihilation Man)" where the Smear's guitar overloads into a destructo slowing-down finale. West passed the mic around and gave Darbys-in-waiting-a-shot, and to be honest the whole affair of him being up there made sense in a big way (especially looking to my right and seeing Gus Van Zandt's Kurt Cobain, Michael Pitt, standing in attendance, and having the whole show follow up what seemed to be a private party of 200 drunken Santas). Despite the serious-punx deification that has arisen around Darby Crash, he and the whole band had subscribed to an extremely John Waters-esque ideology, well documented in the Germs segment in Penelope Spheeris' Decline of Western Civilation film, as well as the must-read Brendan Mullen/Don Bolles-penned biography Lexicon Devil. I told Bolles last week how the whole idea of an actor replacing Darby makes perfect sense because the Germs were both enraptured with and at odds with everything LA stood for, and he agreed that Darby would have dug the absurdist/Warholian element of what was going on, as well as the fact the live sets were happening in a similar forum to the old Whisky days. Theoretically, they could have easily opened for X at the giant Roseland the night before (how weird would that have been), but chose to do a sweaty hellhole of a club instead. Don also said that possible recordings with Steve Albini are in the future. If West's TV schedule allows. Welcome to the Germs 2006. Here's "We Must Bleed" (real audio) from Mike Lupica's recent show.

Comments

[Kim Cooper]

Falling James reviews October's Los Angeles Germs reunion show on the Lost in the Grooves blog (linked at my name). Excerpt:
"West tried too hard, when more mystery would have sufficed. Perhaps he’ll settle down with experience. He kept throwing beer bottles into the packed crowd like some insecure dude with unresolved issues at his first punk gig – a lawsuit waiting to happen. After dodging several errant bottles, I got hit by one I couldn’t see coming out of the lights. It glanced off my leg, even though I was standing in the back of the club -- luckily, it didn’t break. A small but very angry punkette, looking harmless with a cute early-’60s blonde hairdo and wearing a white t-shirt, dark puffy short skirt, black boots and fishnet stockings, picked up the empty bottles and hurled them with great intensity at the actor, nearly striking him several times. The rest of the band should seriously consider giving West a shorter leash... or a script."

[mike jones]

the germs was then and this is now. let us just remember the great bands as they were, none of this rehashing PUHLEEEEZE.

[Alexa]

To paraphrase now-forgotten Democratic candidate Lloyd Bentsen:

Shane West, we served with Darby Crash...we knew Darby Crash...Shane West, you're no Darby Crash.

[fatty jubbo]

I was never much for the Germs aside from their genius single "forming"...but this reunion seems to be in the "fuck it" nihilistic spirit of the Germs. All people involved have moved on to bigger things and have been productive in the past 20 years (well..I'm not quite sure what Lorna Doom has been doing). The fact that they got that ridiculous pretty boy to play the Darby Crash trainwreck is funny.

maybe I never really "got" the Germs...they just seemed kinda generic and I never really saw the charm of Darby Crash. Flipper and Nervous Gender seemed more to embody the west coast punk nihilism of the day.

I'm sure the movie will be dreadful and completely unwatchable.

[Mike Lupica]

Re: punk reunions deemed inappropriate by the masses. Mark my words: The Ramones will rise again. THE RAMONES WILL RISE AGAIN! Two bassists and two drummers kicking around and no reunion tour plans? Lazy is what I call it.

[kelsey]

fuck fuck shane west i'll kick his pertty boy's ass. hey wake up pat he's not darby crash...he's a boy that like's to suck mandy mores cock.bitch i fuck him up..its worth going to prison.

[casey]

you fuckjng idiots. do you think you know more about darby than the rest of the band? shane is doing a great job and just having fun with the oppertunity of a life time, dont be jealous becouse you didnt make it. he is paying tribute, thats all. fuck all of you stuck up new york assholes, you never understood the germs anyway

[Darby killer]

The whole thing is a embarrassment..............please stop!

[Mutfak]

cant wait to see the movie and germs 2.0 on tour all over the world – especially in hamburg, germany!

[D.H.]

MONEY MAKES THE GERMS GO ROUND THE GERMS GO ROUND IN A MOST INBARRASSING WAY.IS THAT THE WAY THE SONG GOES.

[Power Chord Punk]

Does anyone know if there are any bootlegs of this preformance on the internet anywhere? Because i would really like to see one, or hear one.

[Ellss]

Kelsey I agree with you...
I live in Europe...I´m 42 years old...and my english is not perfet...
But I always love the Germs...
And I think shane is doing a great job !
Some people never understood The Germs...but love to be rude!
They dont like Shane anyway because they think Shane made A Walk To Remember `s movie...a romantic movie...
Well...Shane is a Great actor...and an actor can do distinct and different characters:
ugly...beautiful...bad...good...stupid...etc etc etc
A great actor can do everything...
Well...
Stop and wait...we dont see the movie yet...Some people are so rude!They are not the WORLD!!! They are so jealous people!

I think they never understand The Germs...and a good acting!!!
bye
E.

[Mike Y]

Power Chord Punk, I am looking for any live recordings of these shows too, and so far i could not find any on the web.

[Mike]

I saw them with Suicidal Tendecies, Fear and Flipper at the Olympic in LA, a place I saw alot of bands in the 80s, back in Oct... He did a great job, he sounded good, and it was great seeing Pat, Lorna and Don. I look forward to the movie.

[Sean]

I am also looking for any new Germs audio/video. I know there is a Germs DVD coming out from the show at the Vault in Long Beach. But I rather not wait for that. Someone had to of recorded one of their recent shows. If anyone has anything. Email me at [email protected]
I have plenty of rare shit to trade for it
Sean

[iran]

Saw the movie, Shane West has already won two awards for his performance, and the Director did well with the chemistry between the band members. But just in case you're interested in seeing the film, it opens in New York on Aug. 8th at the Sunshine Theater, and the Germs will be playing that night at The Blender in NYC. Aug 15, the film will play the Music Box Theater in Chicago, IL. And a week later, the film will open in L.A. (Nuart Theater), Irvine, CA (Edwards Univesity Town Center 6), and Boston, MA (Kendall Square Cinema). Live Shows from the band at the Nuart 8/22 & 8/23. Cheers.

[iran]

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[Henry Warfield]

I saw the film, it opened last week in NewYork and will be playing in Chicago at the MusicBox this weekend starting 8/15.

[SilverMonkey]

Fuck Shane West! I saw the film in NY and that dude's teeth are so fucked up I don't know how he got a job on ER. I wish I had gone to a show. Let that jerk throw a beer bottle at me. I sling it back and knock his candy ass out!

[Crashing on Beahm]

What a bunch of crap! How could anyone portray the life of Darby Crash!?

[lexicon devil]

Don't you guys get it?? This is what Darby would have wanted. He wanted to be famous and he didn't give a fuck what people thought.

Now more people are going to know about Darby and the Germs don't give a fuck what people think!!

[Henry Warfield]

Darby wouldn't have wanted this. You're a moron.

[Silver Lining]

David Arquette would have made a better Darby Crash.

[lexicon devil]

If any of you guys have even SEEN THE MOVIE you would know that Shane West does a damn good job.