Artist: Cocaine, The Band
Venue: Ace Of Clubs (New York, NY)
Date: 4/23/2008
Label: Independent
While it’s not possible to get myself to every single show that happens in the New York City music scene, the readers of the site and the PiercingMetal Musings blog know full well that I do my damnedest to keep them aware and entertained about that which goes on when the workaday world has thankfully gone away. Living in the Big Apple affords a person the chance to find interesting bands at a number of locations and an experience that often leaves you thinking that you partook in something quite special when it came down to it. Such would be the case when I heard about a hastily set up performance by the band Cocaine. Younger music fans might not remember the “Big Eighties” and the decadence that surrounded it and its imagery only a distant memory to those masses that actually lived through it. It was during these carefree years that Cocaine was on the fast road to success and literally blowing away the competition by the kilo. Bands who worked the same stages were often left dazed in clouds of mysterious powder but on this I will say no more. The future seemed promising when a managerial decision opted to freeze them in time and return them to us in the future when the music scene was not too grungy or faced with boy bands ad nausea. The bands return would come in 2008 and I heard mumblings about some quick appearances, one of which would be at Ace Of Clubs, a solid venue located beneath one of my favorite dinner spots in New York City – the Acme restaurant. I hastily made my way over there and kicked back a stellar pint of the restaurants home brew just in time to find the band arriving and to be honest no one looked any worse the wear after being frozen for so long. Guitarist Husko, bassist Jerko and drummer Marco all bear the same last name of “Caine” yet to my knowledge none of them are related to the ultimate Rock Diva herself Coco.
The guitar lads all sported their signature white jackets and reminded us again about that little history program “Miami Vice” and not a mullet was out of place this evening. Marco proved ready to slam it down behind the kit and under the lights of the club his jerry curls shined as bright as his smile as the band prepared to rock our socks off. The question remained in was what Coco going to be like after all this time, for even one frozen for decades is bound to show signs of depletion after the lifestyle she once led on a regular basis. The music began and suddenly she was here once again larger than life in visual that the posters on the walls of American youth everywhere once showed her to be. Her hair full and flowing and something that would have made Dee Snider blush if he saw it and while she seemed surprised at the reaction she was getting right away from the fans in attendance it was clearly making her smile under all of her signature makeup.
The sexy British import always had a little bit of a Dale Bozzio thing going on in my opinion but the comparison ends here based on the voice that Coco has for the music she does. She uses a higher pitched register for some of the tunes and screams like a banshee when the chords require her to for others but when she focuses straight on her melodies, its enough to make you want to buy her things or leave valuables in her possession. Be careful of that my friends because she would clearly let you do it and send you home groveling but begging for the chance to do it all over again. Such is the price Coco pays for being one of the true rock divas of our time and with her energy level at an all time “high” she was giving the audience her all this evening. Tonight she was dressed in a tight black jeans and wore a fur covered leather which was eventually thrown into the crowd to cool herself down and yet make the room all the more hot. For the set tonight a number of the bands classics were delivered such as “Sex, Drugs, Cocaine” and my personal favorite of them all “Radio On”. Musically they were on point for the show and with this being more of a “no frills” gig we would not find any of their special effects present. It was only standard venue lights as their gigantic “Cocaine” sign was on the fritz and there would be no smoke or flash pots in such tight quarters. Despite this everyone was having a good time on the stage and most importantly those in front watching were as well. Coco engaged the crowd in some of her usual banter and it was great to find that she remains so centered even after so many years at the game. They sang about the “Party’s In The Back”, their ode to mullets and about being a “Rebel” and when the closer “This Is NYC” neared its end, the singer reached into her pockets for some small baggies loaded to overflowing with mysterious contents and proceeded to toss it around in the air. Clearly the band doesn’t truly understand what the “snow effect” means for a rock show – Or do they? Once it was all over I found myself exhausted and yet strangely talkative and full of an added burst of energy. There must have been something in the air that night that did it.
After the show Coco and the guys took some time to pose with their ardent supporters and this is something that today’s music audience enjoys very much. Will the clever hooks of the eighties be able to survive in a mangled music scene of 2008? Only time will tell. Either way, make sure that you check them out sometime because Cocaine has clearly returned to bring you back in time once again and this is a band that is grams and grams of fun when it comes down to it.
Set List:
1. Eat Your Bleeding Heart
2. Radio On
3. Sex, Drugs, Cocaine
4. 2 More Days
5. Party’s In The Back “Mullets Rock”
6. Rebel
7. Socialisms Dead
8. Hurricane
9. I Won’t Die
10. This Is NYC
Official Website: http://www.cocaineband.com
Before the show commenced we were lucky enough to be able to snare a couple of shots of the Rock Goddess Coco Caine herself right outside of the Ace Of Clubs. She kindly obliged us with these candid moments and we are happy to share them with you readers.
