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Missing
Persons
First of all, if you've never been to the Topanga Corral, pack your knapsack and sleeping bags and prepare for a hike. This place is way up in the hills, sitting alone on a stretch of road that one would not expect to find a rock and roll club on.
The
Topanga Corral is not a bad place, it started out as a good old boy
club, but over the last two years they have been booking some of the
best new local bands.
Picture if you will a rustic club with sawdust on the floor, the repugnant odor of stale beer fills the air with a crowd of twenty or so that shows their appreciation for the opening band by breaking beer bottles on the floor, talking among themselves and playing pinball. (I played a great game of Pac-Man myself). The Toasters, The Twisters, The Heaters, and every other skinny-tie band who's name ends in 'er' have been booked here. Unfortunately, the club only serves beer and wine, and Eye feel lost without a glass of cheap whiskey in my hands. Missing Persons was preceded by a band who's name escapes me right now, and that's too bad because I haven't written a scathing review in quite a while. The lead singer told the audience that they would be playing around town. I can only hope that town is Pittsburgh.
Dale Bozzio, the lead singer, is a fantastic performer, exuding a kind of coy innocence that stands in marked contrast to her sexy look, a Cleopatra in plexiglass if you will. She sings as good as she looks and moves with energy and unpretentious spontaneity.
 Guitarist
Warren Cuccurullo follows,
leads and weaves around the group with amazing preciseness and Chuck
Wild on synthesizers has the difficult task of balancing
the vocals, guitar and drums into a complete sound and at the same
time create unique moods and nuances of his own.
My only criticism of the show is that it stayed too fast, too energetic for too long. Some pacing is needed to offset this. I also seemed to notice that the band's material tends to deal a lot with frustration and/or desperation. (Typesetter's note: similar feelings result when typing this column!).
This could be the opening of a Twilight Zone episode and the song "Destination Unknown" has that feeling - the sound of two worlds colliding. We, the infants of the 1950's have grown into a world like the one those 'mad scientists'and doomsayers predicted in those old Twilight Zone episodes. The robots have taken over, technology is out of control. The woman in the song will do the best she can with what she's got, and so will we all. It was a refreshingly vibrant show. I suggest you see Missing Persons before they move into the big halls, as I'm sure they will do soon. I hear they played a strong show when they opened for (K-)rock-poet Tonio K at the new Perkin's Palace in Pasadena last Friday. I was surprised at how hard this group rocks, creates fantastic images, and just generally explodes all over the room. EDITOR'S NOTE: There was no Judy Zee article this issue. As a bonus, (read: filler), I am presenting the top ten most popular new wave records for the last week in May of 1981 as compiled by the LA Weekly:
And that was the week that was . . . |
1980's Los Angeles Punk / New Wave
Dale Bozzio.
 INCREDIBLE! New Red Wedding CD!
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Missing
Persons
played the Topanga Corral on a Tuesday night a few weeks back, and
the show was a surprising one.
When Missing
Persons took the stage, a decidedly different feeling took
hold, the band was so tight and exciting that we all instantly knew
this was no 'garage' band. Perhaps you're familiar with the group,
their newly released single - available at many record stores (Rhino,
Primecuts, Moby Disc and others) and starting to get mucho airplay
on KROQ and KXLU- is out on Komos records and was reviewed here two
issues ago. The long playing 7" record is excellent and comes highly
recommended, but I wondered how the group would come across live since
a great deal of Missing Persons' sound is dependent on synthesizers
and studio work.
I'm
pleased to report that the transition from studio to live performance
in this case is a smooth and very pleasant experience, in fact I like
Missing Persons better live.
Drummer
Terry Bozzio is nothing short of incredible. At least
half of the sound of Missing Persons seems to hinge on his finely
timed, electric, intricately ferocious movement. He never seems to
stop moving and he drives each song with a velocity that I have seen
nowhere else. Fantastic!
Chuck
succeeds remarkably, especially considering this is only their fifth
gig together and he has to duplicate a 'studio sound' under less than
ideal circumstances. 
A
lonely woman, confused- she has nowhere to go, she has nothing to
do, this poor woman doesn't even know the time of day! She's lost
in a world that has left her behind - a world that has her stymied.
1.
Flowers of Romance - P.I.L. 
