Rusty's Surf Ranch
Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica, California
May 29, 2004
By Kayt
This was my last Rusty’s show for a while and it sure was a great send-off. For mostly family
reasons, in July I must leave the place I’ve called home for the past eight and half years,
southern California, and move to the Charlotte, North Carolina area to help out my mother, no longer in good health. Even though people keep telling me it’s a good thing that I’m
doing, moving away will be hard for me as I truly love living here in the Los Angeles area. So
on the night of May 29th I was torn between feeling very happy to see the Red Elvises guys
again and very sad to be leaving. I hardly knew whether to laugh or cry so I did a bit of both.
And then there was Igor’s sage advice, “Don’t cry, just get drunk.” So I had a couple of beers
too, danced onstage for “Belly Dance,” sold some merchandise and had a really great time overall.
For starters, Rusty’s Surf Ranch is evidently being remodeled. The familiar mural painted on the
moveable wall behind the stage, of weathered-appearing barn boards, chickens in the hayloft and the name
“Rusty’s Surf Ranch” in rope that I’ve been staring at in person as well as in photos for
years, was gone! Plain beige paint was in its place and several of us just stood there staring
at it, talking about how wrong that was...beige is simply not a good color for a bar so I hope
that’s a transitional thing, that they’re planning to or already have repainted it with a
better color, another mural or...something...anything. The other major change was that the bar
had been extended almost as far as the men’s room entrance, leaving a narrow hallway of sorts
to enter that popular room but wiping out the area next to it where there had been space for
two tall round tables, resulting in even less seating and standing room in this already less
than extravagantly huge venue. I’m used to Rusty’s constantly changing in small ways...sometimes
the pool tables are accessible, other times they’re shoved and covered against the wall to make
room for more tables behind the stage, for example. But this was just very different. I wonder
what it will look like the next time I see it, which will be the first time I fly out to So
Cal after moving away...I don’t know when that will be but I know I will at some point. I’m very tempted to go down there and
peek in the windows before I leave town! But anyway, beer did wonders to help us cope with the
loss of the chickens, hayloft and ropes on the wall and the surfboards were still in the rafters
above so it was still good old Rusty's and we were there to have a good time.
In that spirit, it’s not about me or about the venue’s cosmetic changes, it’s about Our
Favorite Band and their kick ass rokenrol so now I’ll write about that. It was an absolutely
great show full of the intense amount of fun and energy that one would expect from a Red
Elvises show. I don’t have to tell you that these guys are a party wherever they take a stage;
if you don’t already know that then you must not have ever been to a Red Elvises show. They
played pretty much the same songs as in San Diego a week earlier (see my review of that show in
the June issue) except for one or
two other songs and later the encores, where they took some requests. They sounded absolutely
amazing, awesome, incredible, redtastic...I could go on but I know you know what I'm talking
about, they're simply the best thing on a stage since...well...you know, any band you've ever
seen. They're just the tops in entertainment value...big loud sound that's not afraid to blow
the roof off, the most fun, the nicest...you could laugh and cry like I did or you could just
acknowledge it and dance...either way, you're guaranteed a good time at a Red Elvises show, no
arguing that.
It’s always a little bit wilder, a little bit crazier at their home venue on the
Santa Monica Pier and this night was no exception. I grabbed a spot right in front where I could photograph them as I
always do. The crowd was large and growing; by the start of the second set I couldn’t even get
back through it from where I’d been selling merchandise behind the stage so I alternated
between watching the show from the side of the stage and standing further back to watch the
merchandise I'd left out (instead of putting it all up like I usually do at Rusty's) myself to
relieve my friends of that duty. During the first set they invited a musician who worked with them on earlier CDs up to
play clarinet and later saxophone. I believe his name is Leo but forgive me if I've got it wrong because I didn’t make
any notes this time. He was great and added a cool sound to their songs. A lot of us got
onstage to dance during “Belly Dance” at the end of the first set but at various times Janna
and another lovely Russian girl (sorry, I don’t know her name) got onstage to dance on their
own and the crowd cheered them on. And, as you can see by these photos, Oleg's hair is very very
red once more, all the better to be wowing European audiences as I'm sure they're doing now.
During the break I sold merchandise as best I could in a dark corner of the place where the
light was out. Apparently light bulbs are not part of Rusty’s remodeling plan, or maybe that
one went out right before the show, I don’t know. My willing and eager helpers and I did all we
could to fill requests for certain t-shirts, laying them out and separating them by size and
color on one of the two pool tables that wasn’t being used. Once the second set began most of
the crowd naturally went back to watching the band and the mad rush subsided somewhat. It was
fun, of course, it just would've gone a bit more smoothly with some light.
During the second set they sang Happy Birthday to one of the Russian girl regulars, Dasha,
whose name I hope I spelled correctly. After she was up there something very unexpected
happened... Igor started saying “We have someone here who has helped us so much over the
years...and she’s moving to...northern...or south...Carolina...” or words pretty close to
that...I was so blown away that I may not remember his exact words here, although I know those
guys have trouble remembering exactly where in the southern wilderness I’m moving to and that’s
certainly understandable as well as amusing! My friend practically pushed me to the side
of the stage so I stepped up there and listened, gazing lovingly at Igor and Oleg the whole
time, as they publicly acknowledged my help and my upcoming move. I want to say here that I
love the guys in this band - Igor, Oleg, Oleg-Schramm, Adam - very much and I deeply appreciate them appreciating me this way. No
one could ask for nicer, sweeter friends and it’s truly a pleasure to help them out in whatever
ways I can because I believe in them and know that they deserve the love and support of everyone
who hears them. I will continue doing it, of course, this is not the end...I’ll just be helping
them from the East Coast soon, for the foreseeable future.
Photo by Jamie Vercauteren,
© 2005 |
Near the end of their second set Igor started asking what anyone would like to hear and,
predictably, many song titles were called out. I had managed to get back in front by that time
and in the middle of all that I asked for Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” a song they once played
at Rusty’s a long time ago and had done the week before at Tio Leo’s in San Diego. Igor heard
me and announced that they’d do that one next after the one they were about to do, “for
Kayt...because Kayt rocks!” Wow, how sweet was that?! I do try to rock but never expected
anyone to announce that I do into a microphone (thanks again, Igor, you rock too!). He
was true to his word and played “Wicked Game” next and did a brilliant job just like they did
with all their own songs. As if you didn’t already know it, Red Elvises rock!
After the show we went to a party that lasted until dawn or thereabouts. I’ve had such a great
time at all the So Cal shows and parties over the years and would like to thank everyone
involved who made it possible, as well as everyone I’ve met at Rusty’s shows and other southern
California venues, for the good times. You're all amazing and you all rock! Most of all, I want
to thank Red Elvises, the true makers of the good time, for all their fun performances, happy
times and love. And of course it’s not the end, as I said. I’m sure going to miss all those
nights on the Santa Monica Pier and elsewhere seeing Red Elvises in So Cal but I’m looking
forward to seeing them in East Coast cities, towns and venues. In fact if you live anywhere
within 500 (or possibly more?) miles of Charlotte, North Carolina look for me at upcoming
shows...I'm always happy to meet some new people. I’ve always liked road trips, especially Red ones. So this was my last Rusty’s show for
now...but I’ll be back someday, at least for a visit if not more. It was a great night. Go see
Red Elvises whenever and wherever you can, they’ll be happy to see you!
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