In August 2001 the Dirtbombs from Detroit Michigan convened at the Bottom Of The Hill in San Francisco for a memorable gig that has stood the test of time nearlt two decades later. Here’s an exclusive never before seen edited HD clip of the Dirtbombs opening number shot with two Sony digital video cameras in the back of a sweaty sold out club on a warm San Francisco night. This newly rediscovered & remastered HD edit of the opening number from the show features the closing track of their 12 song 1998 debut album “Horndog Fest”.
Then below this never before seen video is another of the band tearing through a medley of back of back tunes from the same set:
Cedar Point ’76/ I’ll Be In Trouble/Chains Of Love/Maybe Your Baby
The Dirtbombs, fronted by the then 35-year-old Mick Collins (already a veteran of budget garage rawk groups such as Blacktop & The Gories), were out and about mainly to promote their sophomore album, Ultraglide in Black on the In The Red label. At the time, rock scribe, Jennifer Maerz interviewed Collins for an interview that was published days prior to the gig in SF Weekly where she noted Collins got the idea for the Dirtbombs back in 1992, while on tour in Europe with the Gories. At that time, he said the punk trend was to chuck the bass player and just have drums and guitars — a trend he reacted to by having two bass players. Since then, the band has gone through 10 lineups. “There’s enough ex-Dirtbombs to make five whole bands. There’s a couple people whose names I don’t even remember,” chuckles Collins. (The latest configuration includes Ghetto Records owner Jim Diamond on bass, Tom Potter on “fuzz” bass, Pat Patano and Ben Blackwell on drums, and Collins on vocals, guitar, and harmonica.)
Mick told Maerz “We’re extremely loud live because we have two drum sets and two full bass rigs — and we keep the beat going all night,” says Collins. “In addition to “loud,’ I guess “unpredictable’ is a good word. We never know what’s going to happen. There’s a lot of give-and-take with the audience — the more they’re into it, the more we are. We encourage people to dress wild, wear costumes and stuff. Don’t worry about looking cool; don’t worry about that scenester crap. We don’t fit in, why should you? Let your freak flag fly high, baby! Let it all hang out!”