His life story is a human interest piece carved across the forearm with a razor blade. His music: lyrically outrageous, hilarious and far-fetched yet simultaneously real. His name? Mickey Avalon. And Sunday night at Bar 24, fans from across the West were given the chance to see all the crazy, manic passion that is a Mickey Avalon concert.
Hours before the show, Bar 24 was filling up at an accelerated rate. Fueled by radio, fliers, and an extensive word-of-mouth network that brought in fans from as far north as Washington state and as far south as Brazil, the hype surrounding the performance was matched, if not one-upped by the show itself.
Sebastapol, CA based hip-hop entertainer Smoov-E opened up the evening with his unique blend of music, free-flowing in and out of each song as if a little bird was whistling a melody in his ears at all times. He didn’t give way to any intermission throughout his set, busting out an explosion of rap, funk, jazz, and a Capella for fans to experience. South Lake shot it right back, giving him an audience that stayed with him throughout the ebb and flow of his spotlight presence.
Mickey Avalon at Bar 24 Photo by Brandon Anicich
And then came Late Nite Billy, the man behind Late Nite Productions… announcing the arrival of the show everyone had been waiting for – Mickey Avalon.
Decked out in a 1972 style surf tank top, denim and a leather jacket, Avalon stepped up and sent the scene into a tailspin. The word “nuts” is an entire understatement (there are more effective four letter words to describe the event).
It is one thing to see a brilliant star performing for 30,000 strong in a jam packed arena, with people strewn about every which way, but it is another thing entirely to face that performer from twelve inches away in a crowded night club with 500 present. The experience gets much more intimate when you can see the sweat, see the eyes and feel the exertion emanating from the stage. Avalon gave all of us another all-out performance, one whose echoes we’ve all been hearing since.
“Performing is what we do this for,” Avalon said after the show. “I mean, before when we were just laying down tracks for the hell of it, it was fun. But recording now is like ‘Okay, we’ve got to rap two more parts for this song’ or ‘We need to finish two songs by this day’ and it’s not as fun as performing it live.”
When asked about coming to Tahoe after New York, Avalon gave credit to Late Nite Billy and the people of South Lake.
“Billy was always there for us when we were starting out,” Avalon said. “He was real nice to us, picked us up from the airport himself and took care of everything for us every time. We always like coming back here.
Late Nite Billy and Mickey Avalon Photo by Brandon Anicich
“Tonight was great. Everybody out here tonight was awesome. I always tell people to come to the shows for the girls if nothing else. I’m very lucky to say that I have beautiful girls as a fan base. And I know the songs are kind of… I mean they’re written in a form that makes them come off as kind of funny, which is one way people look at it, and… but there’s also a part of the songs that is very real or true as well. So even if there are guys who don’t like the songs… just come out for the chicks. Do it for the sexy girls.”
For more information on Mickey Avalon please visit MickeyAvalon.com
Check back with SouthLakeTahoe.com for more upcoming Late Nite Productions.
September 9th, 2009 → 2:47 am by Brandon Anicich