The Dickies - The Record Collector (Bordentown, NJ) - Thursday, January 1, 2009

I almost didn’t end up going to this show. For starters, though I’d found out about it weeks earlier, I almost forgot about it until I saw it posted on Facebook the day of the show! Should I trek all the way up to Bordentown on New Years Day, still recovering from attending several house parties the night before on New Years Eve, and pay a hefty price ($25) just to see THE DICKIES? Well since I’m writing this review, I think you’ll know what the answer is. Of course I should!

The only time I’d seen them before this show was in November of 1994, when they (along with THE MEATMEN) opened for GWAR at the long defunct and much-missed City Gardens in Trenton. In fact, it was one of the last shows City Gardens ever hosted. On that night, they were flat, out-of-tune and it sounded like supremely nasally vocalist LEONARD GRAVES PHILLIPS was struggling to keep up with the band. I’d found out years later that he was heavy into drugs during this period, which explains the poor performance. However, although I’d missed them, I’d heard rumblings that their more recent performances were actually good. Still skeptical but curious, I headed to Record Collector (as the name implies, it’s a record store that does shows; incidentally, RANDY NOW, who used to book City Gardens, books the shows there) to check them out. Though they said the show was “sold out” when I called them earlier in the day, I got in without a problem after paying the attendant the door price.

Long-running New Jersey pop-punk band THE FIENDZ, who I saw play with THE THIRTEEN (thanks Sal for telling me about this show!), opened the show, but I got there too late to see them. After that, it was a bit of a wait until The Dickies got on, but man oh man, as soon as they hit the stage, you knew it was gonna be good. Unlike 14 years ago, Leonard sang GREAT, the band was tight and the setlist was awesome, too. They focused heavily on their 1st album, 1979’s The Incredible Shrinking Dickies, playing “Give It Back,” “Poodle Party (complete with Leonard’s doggie puppet),” “Waterslide,” “Curb Job” and their cover of BLACK SABBATH’s “Paranoid”. Additionally, they played “Jim Bowie” (from 1988’s great and underrated Killer Klowns from Outer Space EP) early in their set. Although only two songs from their great 2nd Lp Dawn of the Dickies were played (they were “Manny, Moe and Jack” and their crazed cover of THE MOODY BLUES’ “Nights in White Satin”), we got a lot of material from 1983’s Stukas Over Disneyland. I remember “Rosemary,” “If Stuart Could Talk” (with Stuart the penis puppet in tow) and the singles “I’m OK, You’re OK” and “Gigantor” being played on this evening. Another highlight was a typically twisted cover of NEIL YOUNG’s “Rockin’ in the Free World”. As any fan knows, these guys take absolutely nothing seriously, but still leave you humming their songs with hooks that last for days on end.

There was much joking between Phillips and guitarist STAN LEE. I can’t tell you who the other, much younger-looking members were, but they are all fine players and it should be mentioned that the bassist was in an animal costume. Phillips’ stage banter revolved around self-deprecating references to their age as well as that of the audience. He also mentioned that THE DAMNED, a big influence on The Dickies, had canceled their tour, so the audience instead went to see them. What’s funny about this is that had The Damned not canceled their tour, they and The Dickies would’ve ended up playing on the same night here in Philadelphia a few nights later.