Cat House

The Head Cat
The Uptown, Oakland, California
September 15, 2010


For the newbies: The Head Cat is a cover band featuring Lemmy on bass / vox, Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats) on drums, and Danny Harvey on guitar. The band plays vintage Rock and Country songs and is active whenever Lemmy’s other band is on a break from touring; Lemmy is like a shark and must keep moving. Normally a cover band is Umlaut’s mortal enemy; I can’t stand them (Sorry to all of Umlaut’s friends who are in cover bands, but I'm just being honest..). However, I accept The Head Cat because it’s LEMMY’S cover band. I saw The Head Cat a couple of years ago and it was a revelation seeing Lemmy performing songs that he obviously loves and that inspired him in his Salad Days; with The Head Cat Lemmy is basically being a Music Geek onstage.

The Uptown was crowded but not packed... WTF!? It was LEMMY playing A BAR in OAKLAND. When was the last time Lemmy even set foot in the heart of Raider Nation?! My guess is 1988… seriously. Most of those in attendance were tattooed Rockabilly types supporting The Head Cat because of their fandom of Slim Jim and Danny. If the passing of Ronnie James Dio taught us anything it's that Metalheads need to see their old heroes at every possible opportunity. It was shameful that Old Metalheads didn’t show up en masse to support Lemmy! This is someone who many Old Metalheads claim is one of their “Metal Gods” and yet most of the local Metal types stayed away from this gig. Shameful! Lemmy not getting Metal support in The East Bay of all places was pathetic... There, I said it. However, at least the Umlaut Nation was nicely represented… so a shout out to Photo Ray, DeVito, The Talent, Scapparo, Stacy, Wexford Girl, and The Bassist.

Lemmy and the guys casually walked onstage at around 11:10pm and took off with ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’ and for the next 75 minutes or so it was pure F-U-N. The setlist was basically a mirror of the one I saw in 2008 with songs by Eddie Cochran ('Somethin' Else'), Buddy Holly ('Not Fade Away'), CCR ('Suzie Q'), Johnny Cash ('Big River'), and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates ('Shakin' All Over') among others. If you can't recognize the connection that these vintage songs have with the roots of Lemmy and Motörhead then you shouldn't wear a Motörhead shirt… and because of the stripped down format (vocals, bass, guitar, 2 half stacks, snare drum / tom tom / kick drum / cymbals), Lemmy’s Bass God status was on display like a punch to the sternum.

Photo courtesy of Photo Ray

As with the show I saw in 2008, the highlight of the set was The Head Cat's version of the Stray Cats' mega hit 'Rock This Town' with Slim Jim on vocals. There were certainly a lot of drunk chicks and dudes in the crowd, especially for a Wednesday night. Those Rockabilly kidz sure know how to have a good time with their alcohol; the crowd action was more drunk dancing than thrashing. At one point one of the drunk Rockabilly chicks grabbed my hand and twirled me around a couple of times before she spun staggered back towards the stage. Cute.

Lemmy's onstage demeanor is so different when fronting The Head Cat vs. Motörhead. He looks happier and more relaxed. He smiles onstage and talks more to the crowd. He wears Creepers instead of cowboy boots. He wears a comfortable looking cowboy hat instead of a black military-style calvary hat. Seeing Lemmy be that way up close and personal should be a revelation for anybody who claims to be a Motörhead fan; it's as close to seeing "the real" Lemmy as you'll ever get. He’s a Lock ‘N Loll God, but he’s also a fan of Lock ‘N Loll.

Photo courtesy of Photo Ray

Number of Motörhead shirts = 2 (ONLY TWO). If you you bought one of every Head Cat merch item you would have paid $40; whoever does their merch did a fine job I must say. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags..... Dude, LEMMY played A BAR in OAKLAND and the Metalheads were outnumbered in the crowd. Bay Area Metalheads, sometimes I feel like I don't even know you. Those who fail to learn from History are destined to listen to crap music. The Head Cat can be explained by this simple progression:

Vintage Motown original > Motörhead cover version > The Head Cat

Click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots from the night.

No Sleep 'Til Alcatraz

Thanks to the Rock Godz, Umlaut was able to skate onto The List for Social Distortion at The Fillmore.

Social Distortion
The Fillmore, San Francisco
January 5, 2008

Posted on the band's web site:

TONIGHT'S SHOW SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, IS POSTPONED DUE TO ILLNESS. Due to illness, Social Distortion are forced to cancel tonight Saturday, January 5, 2008. Rescheduled show information is forthcoming. Please hold onto your tickets until further information is posted. The band apologizes for this incredible inconvenience.

It was incredibly gracious of Social D. to cancel the show because Miatomic, who was going to be Umlaut's +1, wasn't feeling well. Nicely done, Orange County, nicely done.

The Head Cat
The Independent, San Francisco
January 10, 2008



I must admit I was dubious about what kind of performance this would be... Lemmy performing with his "rockabilly side project"?? Also in the mix was Slim Jim Phantom of Stray Cats on drums and a guitarist who wasn't Fast Eddie. It could go either way, ya know? However, if anything, it was a chance to see Lemmy in the smallest venue he's played in the area since the 80's.

Well, I'm happy to report it went the *right* way; the set was like a journey through Lemmy's record collection! He and the band shook the stage for a good 75 minutes and played songs by the likes of Eddie Cochran ('Somethin' Else'), Buddy Holly ('Not Fade Away'), CCR ('Suzie Q'), Johnny Cash ('Big River'), Johnny Kidd & The Pirates ('Shakin' All Over'), a great version of Larry Williams' 'Bad Boy', and a storming set closing rendition of 'Crossroads'. Also, as a nod to Slim Jim's old band, they did a barn burning rendition of the Stray Cats hit 'Rock This Town' with Slim on vocals. Nice Nice.

Besides the rollicking setlist, it was cool to see Lemmy loose and having fun onstage.. You could tell this is the music he loves and it was inspiring to see a Rock God being a Music Geek in public. Metalheads may still say "WTF..".. but if they paid attention it would be obvious Motörhead has always been encased by these influences. I'd say a good number of vintage MH songs like 'Dance' and 'No Class' would easily fit into rockabilly versions.. etc. etc. etc. Plus, Lemmy was wearing the most amazing pair of white creepers, which caught my attention 'cause with Motörhead he's always wearing white cowboy boots.

Thanks to Old Metal Steffan, Mark D. and Umlaut were escorted back for an audience with Mr. Kilmister.

Mark D. > The Head Cat > Umlaut

The first time Umlaut met Lemmy was in 1983 when Big Wayne, John Silence, and I interrupted him as he was drinking at a venue's bar (The Stone, S.F.).. Stupid kids! Fast forward to the 21st Century:

Music Geek Moment #1: Jammed into the tiny dressing room, sitting 2 feet from Lemmy, as a conversation about Allen Ginsberg, The Beats, J. Edgar Hoover in women's underwear, and Gram Parsons' cremation swirled around the room. Surreal.

Best Quote: "Gram Parsons?? Was he in the Alan Parsons Project??" (By a drunk friend-of-a-friend of Lemmy's during the above conversation)... Cue Umlaut slapping his own forehead with the palm of his hand in disbelief. This was followed by Lemmy cracking wise about the homoerotic qualities of the band name The Flying Burrito Brothers.. Non-Music Geeks can use Wikipedia to understand all of this.

Music Geek Moment #2: Chatting with Slim Jim Phantom and mentioning how I was a fan of Stray Cats AND that I'd seen Phantom, Rocker, & Slick (his post-Stray Cats band with Lee Rocker and Earl Slick). Slim's reaction was "YOU DID?! Only the first album was good...". Funny.

Also, a bottle of Jack Daniels was placed on the dressing room food table next to the obligatory cheese, cold cuts, bread, and other Rock Star food items. Lemmy: Keepin' it real.

Back in The Prius on the drive home, the first song iPod on shuffle played was 'Not Fade Away' by Buddy Holly... I shit you not! The Head Cats played it.. It's one of Umlaut's all-time favorite songs... iPod played it.. The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways.

Thanks to Umlaut's Old Metal Brutha Steffan for making the night happen.

Venom shirts = 2. I completely spaced on doing a merch audit, but The Head Cat did have a shirt for sale. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. It's been almost 30 years (!) since the first time Umlaut met Lemmy and I still geeked out over it. Hope I die before I get old.

"C'mon Newcastle, let's hear it for the road crew!"