Broad Ripple Gazette vol 4, number 20

Otto’s Funhouse featuring Doug Stanhope
Monday, September 17, 2007
The Melody Inn

Otto hosts his Funhouse every third Monday of every month at the Melody Inn. This Monday was a little different. Showtime’s Doug Stanhope is on the road promoting his new DVD, “Doug Stanhope, No Refunds,” and Otto gave him the microphone for the whole evening.

I tuned in to the Bob and Tom Show that morning to hear Doug’s guest spot. It was funny and he certainly made me giggle. The description of his new haircut alone made me look forward to the show. The Melody Inn was packed full of laughing guys, with a liberal dose of women thrown in when I arrived.

I can’t quote any of the show, because the sentences would be heavily censored. Doug talked a lot about relationships and the awkwardness involved. Ironically one of his stories was about the first girl that he, ahem, “liked” and her name was Nora. I was standing in the short hallway at the front door. I was very close to the stage, when he went on his Nora riff, several guys were pointing at me. I’m sure Doug was wondering what that was all about.

But back to Otto, please. Otto has been entertaining us for years. I first met him when was playing guitar with his wildly popular band the Slammies. Otto (or Ricky as we called him in those days) worked at Gritzby’s (I maybe spelling that wrong) in the Bazaar at the Keystone at the Crossing and I worked at Benihana right across the parking lot. Ah, those were some fun days.

Otto Funhouse is a variety show; an open show geared to musicians, poets and acoustic musicians. Each performer gets a 10-minute slot to do their thing. Check out Otto’s MySpace page for details on signing up to perform.

The next Otto’s Funhouse at the Melody Inn is October 15. The variety show can also be found at the Tip Top Tavern on the first Tuesday’s of the month.


http://www.myspace.com/ottothecomic
www.dougstanhope.com




The Vibrators
Local’s Only
Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Any punk rocker worth their Doc Martens is a fan of the Vibrators. The band formed in 1976 -- which was lifetime ago. I think that band years are like dog years. One actual year equals seven in the music world.

It was great to finally see the band -- or what is left of it. Knox, the main songwriter and guitar player is the only original member.

I loved every second of the evening. I got to chat with Knox before the show started --meeting a punk rock idol with a charming British accent was almost too much for me. I did not help that when I tried to buy a button from their merch table, he gave me the button and tried to convince me to purchase a pair of thong panties with the Vibrator logo instead.

The crowd consisted of gracefully aging punk rockers and young skateboarders. I loved getting to chat with everyone. There are some great stories out there; I just need to get them on paper.

The Vibrators have a lengthy catalogue to draw from. They played some of my favorites; including the crowd sing-along Baby, Baby.

The totally adorable Gito Gito Hustlers from Japan opened the show.