Cave Stomp '97

A weekend of garage rock

by John O'Neill

Jeff Conolly jumped back from his keyboard and pinwheeled his arms as though he'd just been electrocuted. On cue with the frontman's wild gesticulations, drummer Paul Murphy ripped off one last bruising snare roll and guitarist Steve Aquino bunny-hopped and lurched to his left while crashing down on the final chord. The over-capacity crowd cheered lustily as the Lyres left the stage. It didn't matter to anyone that it was now 3:15 in the morning, they'd just witnessed a moment that was nearly 20 years in the making. On this evening Boston legend Jeff Conolly stood toe to toe with his mentor, Rudy Martinez, while also making a strong case for the Lyres as one of the all-time great rock-and-roll bands. Having started out as a devotee of authentic '60s-style garage rock, Conolly left New York as an undisputed equal to those he originally set out to imitate.

Billed as Cave Stomp '97, the two-day festival in late October featured the Lyres along with and the Mysterians (the original garage-punks-with-attitude), whose organ-driven soul has had profound influence over the Lyres' sound. Singer Rudy Martinez also affected Conolly's vocal styling and phrasing. Cave Stomp attracted dozens of rock-and-roll bands (Rock and roll: meaning a specific style of music that essentially disappeared from popular radio in 1967 when the Beatles "liberated" the genre from its "narrow" confines with the release of Sgt. Pepper, and not the all-encompassing term used to describe everything from Aerosmith to Zappa) and hundreds of rabid fans from all over the world, including four carloads of Worcester garage-rock diehards who wouldn't have missed this pairing for anything. And though the Lyres versus Mysterians angle indeed proved to be the pinnacle of the event, the highlights from this three-chord love-in are abundant.

New Jersey power trio Swingin' Neckbreakers took the spirit of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis and married it to the Ramones' sonic aesthetics, while singer Tom Jorgensen wailed his way through three-minute songs like a demented professor teaching Intro to Rock & Roll.

The Smithereens returned to their roots with a blistering set of early material, proving that you can go home again (even if it takes six roadies to help you do it) and, in a nod to an unappreciated genius, summonsed master of ceremonies Peter Zaremba (of the ultra-cool Fleshtones) for a romp through the Outsiders' classic "Time Won't Let Me."

Sweden's Nomads' first-ever East Coast appearance put an end to years of speculated greatness when they bludgeoned the room with an absolutely huge MC5-style sound, fragging an amp in the process.

Michigan youngsters the Hentchmen, who drove down from a gig in Toronto in a van with a blown head gasket, spent every last dollar they had on oil just to get to town. Two hours late and grimy, they hit the stage and played an unrestrained and spirited set. Representative of rock in its purest form, the Hentchmen are the torchbearers of garage music's new generation.

Long-forgotten bands like the Misquitos, Cheapskates, and Secret Service re-formed for the evening for no other reason than they were asked. All were able to deliver solid, well-received sets, and all were pleased to still be recognized and appreciated.

Wormtown's own Steve Aquino enjoyed his greatest moment as a guitarist when he pushed the Lyres beyond their normal limit, forcing them to play at a level they haven't reached in 12 years and exorcising the specter of former guitarist Danny McCormick once and for all in the process. It was a set that would have been impossible to follow on any other night.

While it's been 31 years since "96 Tears" first topped the charts at WORC and since ? and the Mysterians existed in the public eye for a total of two national TV appearances, their influence is still felt today, judging by the turnout and reaction they received when they took the stage some point after 3:30 a.m.

Thirty years ago Rudy Martinez was the guy who looked like he'd kick your ass and steal your girlfriend. Nothing much has changed -- except now he's probably more interested in your daughter. While contemporaries like the Beach Boys and Shadows of Knight exist today as irrelevant hit machines, the Mysterians still look and sound as dangerous as they ever did. For 60 minutes they mesmerized the audience with the same soulful punk classics that first made them (almost) famous. The night culminated with the two-chord anthem, "96 Tears," which sounded as fresh as it did the day it first debuted on WTAC in Flint, Michigan.

When it was over, the masses spilled out into the streets of the Lower East Side as the sky began to lighten, happy in the knowledge that rock and roll continues to be played and enjoyed. Although it may never break the surface again in the way of popular appeal, it will still be practiced in basements and garages, heard in small clubs, written about in fanzines, and receive airplay from left-of-the-dial disc jockeys.

As for Cave Stomp '98, it's just a matter of who's driving.