Geek love

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

Although I recently jettisoned most of my collector crap, out of a necessity of space (and my girlfriend’s refusal to live in an apartment that looks like it was decorated by a 16-year-old), I still have to satiate my inner geek every now and again, and the new GG Allin bobblehead is just too good to pass up. It’s no secret that some of the nerdiest people alive are GG Allin fans, and let the P.C. police be damned but I actually find most of his shit (excuse the bad pun) to be absolutely hilarious. If ol’ Geeg could have seen his econo-Nietzschean nihilistic pose being reduced to a bobblehead, he may have wanted to rethink things a little, but being released this week is a nodding GG cast in plastic. Nerds like me are sure to be doing the wang-dang-doodle over the home décor item, in a limited edition of 2,000. Toy company Aggronautix has outdone itself, with GG mounted in a pedestal in his trademark cowboy boots and jock strap, with amazing detail on his completely shitty tattoos like “Live Fast Die” and blood-covered forehead. If you really want to satiate your inner punk nerd, you might also want to jump on the bobblehead of Meatmen’s Tesco Vee that Aggronautix is releasing as well, but in a limited edition of 1,000. Check out aggronautix.com if your geek stores aren’t holdin’.

For all of you who just skipped that whole previous section at the first mention of bobbleheads, there is a heaping amount of shows coming up this week. Look no further than the Suoni per il Popolo fest that is well underway, running until the end of June. Tonight, June 18, is a real humdinger with Montreal noise legend Knurl shredding eardrums with a guitar-driven frequency freakout at Zoobizarre, alongside the king of provocation (and fellow Kiss and GG nerd) Corpusse and the Unireverse adding their dementia. A little more easygoing would be Clues and Dead Science at la Sala Rossa tonight. I know most readers are still reeling at my admission of being a bobblehead collector, and I don’t know if they are putting truth serum in Labatt 50 now, but I am also a big fan of true pop craftsmanship, and Clues’ self-titled debut is brimming with pop hooks and adventurous arrangements that easily earmark it for a Polaris prize.

My pick for show of the week would be Friday night at Centro Gallego when one of the most devastating local bands, Menace Ruine, annihilate with a little help from the industrious noise of Hyena Hive. Skipping ahead to Monday, don’t miss the new metal edge to political punks Propagandhi with Strike Anywhere and Humanifesto at Club Soda, and finally, on Tuesday, don’t miss an ultra-rare chance to see Jonathan Richman with Vic Chesnutt at Cabaret du Musée.

WHAT’S THE FREQUENCY, KENNETH? JONATHAN.CUMMINS@GMAIL.COM