Sasquatch and the Sickabillies, Koffin Kats, Rigor Phallus at Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ: March 4, 2006

Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, New Jersey is a strange place. From the outside, the venue is camouflaged by its surroundings—a shore town wasteland that can’t seem to recover from urban decay. The only way to really spot the club is to notice a hollow, relic of a bowling pin that acts as a club sign.

Inside, however, it looks like someone put a sheet over a giant 1950s bowling alley and let it collect dust for half a century, only to be rediscovered completely intact—Kind of like finding that 1934 Ford hiding in your grandmother’s garage. Boomerang designs on every wall, vintage bowling alleys with no digital score sheets in sight, and clientele that dresses era specific to add to the ambiance. This place is a true hidden gem.

The poison for the night was psychobilly.

Local favorites, Sasquatch and the Sickabillies headlined a night of wrecking and debauchery playing a more rockabilly-leaning style of psychobilly that seemed a little easier on the ears, but rocked pretty damn hard. The Sickabillies were suffering from a little bit of feedback at first, but Sasquatch demanded that the squealing be stopped, and so it did. The band tore through most of their latest record “Burning Miles of Sin,” including the awe-inspiring “Bed Full of Flames.” Sasquatch sang like a demonic preacher beckoning the audience to see the demons that he sees. Unlike most of the new psychobilly bands that have taken to LA and the Garden State, The Sickabillies have that invisible “It” factor–they just look like stars up there on stage, and that’s not a bad thing.

Detroit-rockers the Koffin Kats served up the audience nice and hot after battering them for 45-minutes with tracks off all three of their smokin’ psycho-punk records; including their latest release “Straying from the Pack.”

Singer Vic Victor swung his bass around his head like a madman while singing standout tracks like “V8 Nightmare,” “Chainsaw Massacre,” and “Mechanical Youth.” Most three-piece bands don’t usually connect with the audience physically since all members are strapped down to their instruments. With a gigantic upright in hand, Vic would leap into the crowd, climb up onto his bass and give a new meaning to playing upright.

The band had a tough start, as the guitars were way too high in the mix, but eventually got everything under control by the third song. Guitarist Tommy Koffin is an awesome hybrid guitarist, obviously influenced by punk rock, he manages to blend both styles effortlessly on almost every song. And then there’s the mystery of the missing drummer. Damien Detroit was nowhere to be found. In his place was a superb replacement in Katch.

Not to hate, but opening band Rigor Phallus was an acquired taste. The frontman sang with a gutteral roar that could peel paint, while the band leaned more towards the psycho than the billy, cranking out some crazy hardcore stylings that seemed to keep the audience happy. Then again, psychobilly is a strange genre covering an assortment of styles including metal, punk and rock, and it looks like Asbury Lanes had all its bases covered during their Psychofest. Here’s to another some time soon.