Thai Elvis Vs. Eagles of Death Metal

Drove in to LA the other night to catch The Eagles of Death Metal at the Henry Fonda, or the Music Box, or the Music Box in Henry Fonda's Colon, or whatever the fuck they're calling that venue these days.

(The above pic is of me and Eagles frontman Jesse "The Devil" Hughes, taken a coupla weeks back when he and drummer Joey Castillo dropped by the ShockHound headquarters to film a righteous live set for our site; Jesse had such a good time with us, he insisted that I take his copy of the latest issue of Buttman magazine as a parting gift. "It will change your life!" he enthused.)

Since my ShockHound colleagues and I had some time to kill before the Eagles' set, and none of us had any interest in seeing opening act The Living Things, we hit Palms Thai for dinner. Now, I'd never eaten there in my 15 years in LA, but I'd always heard about it — or more specifically, people had always told me about Thai Elvis, who provides the restaurant's musical entertainment. To be honest, I was a little disappointed; I'd been led to expect something wilder and campier, like an insane Thai dude in full Vegas jumpsuit-and-scarves regalia — as opposed to a straight-looking, helmet-haired gentleman doing karaoke with a minimum of movement. The cat's delivery was smooth, his tone excellent, and he did do a nice version of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline"; but it didn't help that he was upstaged by both the dining-hall noise of of the joint and a giant metal sculpture of "The King" that towered over him at stage right. Not only did the statue have more dynamic presence than Thai Elvis, but its head was oddly warped and twisted and only sort of looked like the real Elvis. Imagine if Jesse Garon hadn't been stillborn, but had had his skull mangled by forceps during the birthing process, and you'll have some idea what this freakish thing looks like. The food was quite solid, though, especially the fried tofu, and a couple rounds of Singha beers put us all in the mood to rock...

The show itself was a lot of fun, though even with three albums to draw from — and despite Jesse's considerable charisma — the Eagles of Death Metal's songs just aren't varied or interesting enough to sustain a full 80 minute set. (Jesse himself admits that all their songs are basically just straight rip-offs of either early Ramones or "Brown Sugar," the latter of which popped up as a solo encore.) They did break things up with a rippin' version of Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle With You," featuring Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age on guest vocals. Overall, I'd give 'em higher marks for entertainment than Thai Elvis...

Josh — who originally founded the band with Jesse — actually returned to the stage several times over the course of the night, even taking over on drums for a song or two. It was kind of weird; Eagles is (are?) definitely Jesse's band these days, but it was clear that a lot of folks were there in hopes of seeing Josh; I even heard some dude yell out before the show started, "Come on, Queens of the Stone Age!" The thick-necked, buzz-cutted, goateed "bro" contingent in the audience was pretty high, and you could tell it wasn't because Eagles typically draw a lot of fine ladies; every time Josh came back onstage, this weird low-end rumble ("UHHHHHHHHHHH!!!") would emanate from the crowd, as if an army of Von Dutch-wearing zombies had suddenly been roused to semi-life by the sight of their leader. Which was funny, and odd, since Josh (at least going by my many interactions with him) is about as un-"bro" a dude as you can possibly imagine. I guess that's the curse that comes with being a famous rocker who's built like a football tight end; the mooks of the world can't help but want you to lead them to the promised land...

Anyway, 'twas a good night out in Hollywood, and that's never a bad thang. Back out in the desert now with a three-day weekend on my hands and very little in the way of time commitments or obligations; just hoping the rainy weather lets up by Sunday so's I can catch my first Palm Springs Chill game of the year. Have a lovely weekend, y'all...

Comments

[Alex]

I really hope you groped that man. I am infatuated with him.
seriously

[Dan E]

He groped ME, Alex - does that count?

[Rich]

Wait a minute, is Gene Trautman (ex-Miracle Workers) no longer the Eagles' drummer? Man, he was perfect with them. I sorta know the guitarist from the LA scene, too. They were pretty great when we saw them a couple of years ago but it sounds like things have changed.

And we always meant to see the Thai Elvis and never managed too. Kinda good to hear that he isn't all he was cracked up to be (unless he's changed, also!)

[Bob MacKay]

What, no picture of either Elvi (metal or Thai)?

[Dan E]

Rich, I think the Eagles lineup is WAY fluid - changes from tour to tour as far as I can tell, depending on who's available and/or into it. Bob, I forgot to bring my camera; you'll just have to go see the Elvi for yourself ;)

[Fred B]

Dan,
That same Thai Elvis sang FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOU as he led Giermo and his wife to be down the aisle at their wedding at the Friars club. The rent-a-Rabbi loved it.

we've seen him in a few times...a classic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-rrTVivLZo&feature=related