100 Monkeys
Opening act: The Electric Rhythm Bitches
The Roxy
West Hollywood, CA
October 10, 2010
By: Nevra Azerkan
Rating:
The Roxy had a Metal Matinee show beforehand, so you can only imagine the type of crowd that came out while fans of 100 Monkeys were waiting in line outside. We witnessed drunken debauchery at its finest with plenty of bloody gore. After that crowd cleared out we were ushered inside within the hour.
There was an opening band, if you can even call them that. I would not even wish my worst enemy to have to watch these guys perform. The Electric Rhythm Bitches consisted of a lanky senior citizen, a guy who looked like a cross between Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman of Mythbusters and a Laurent look-a-like from Twilight. Their “music” was excruciating. Their cover of Heart’s “Barracuda” was disastrous at its best. I’d be surprised to hear if these guys have been playing together for more than a month. When the audience starts hoping that the next song is their last song, then you know it was a bad idea to invite these guys to play. If they are indeed friends of 100 Monkey’s then may this be a lesson to pick a band that will get fans 
worked up rather than annoyed. I would rather have no opening act than to have to hear TERB again. I won’t even go into detail how the old man was awkwardly jumping around the stage. After the opening mess left the stage, it was only a matter of minutes before 100 Monkeys graced us with their presence.
When the curtains were raised the fans went crazy with screams as 100 Monkeys opened with “Reaper” and then “Orson Brawl”. The guys seemed pumped and excited to be playing on 10.10.10. This was their last Los Angeles show of the year. They did their trademark Monkey Switcheroo, which is when they all switch instruments between songs. I think this is one of the coolest aspects of their show. It’s obvious these guys are talented and they always seem to take it up a notch.
Along with the switcheroo, they have another tradition with the improv song. Fans yell out topics that Jared filters out and then Jackson comes up with a song using the topic as the basis. The improv song for this show was, “Slap Me Silly and Call Me Susan”, which later was altered to “Slap Me and Call Me Stupid”. An original song made on the spot at every show—genius. Their set also included “Ugly Girl”, “The Monkeys Song”, “Wings on Fire”, “Keep Awake”, “Kolpix” and two new songs (“Black Diamond”) from their forthcoming album among a couple others.
After their set ended, everyone was invited upstairs to On the Rox where the guys would be hanging out and Samantha 
Ronson spinning. While everyone was dispersing, a crowd had gathered by the VIP section where Nikki Reed was graciously taking pictures with fans. It was a small crowd as I don’t think many people noticed she was there with all the commotion going on.
This was my third time seeing these guys and the Roxy show ranks second within that list. The first time I saw them was at the San Diego House of Blues during Comic-Con 2010 and the venue is hardly worth bragging about. The guys seemed distracted and this was more than likely due to some crazy fans that were hounding them before and after the show. The second was at the
first Viper Show in August. Anyone who has been to the Viper Room knows it’s one of the best venues on the Sunset Strip, if not the best. Not only was the environment chill, but the band seemed more at ease. The guys also let loose more at 21 and over shows than at the all ages shows. While I compare these shows for review purposes, when discussing each show on its own they are all amazing. Be assured that if you do get to see these guys live (and you should) you will be in for an electrifying night of funky rock and roll.
