Hopey, thanks for putting this bill together. At 9pm Shiva Speedway from Boston opened for Vitapup. The last time I saw that crazy dyke drummer, Melissa from Vitapup, was over Memorial Day Weekend at the We Festival in Wilmington, North Carolina.

I had seen Melissa drum before with her teammates -- Team Dresch -- for the kick off of FraggleRock at the Bank. I was so busy jockeying for a position on the ledge just in front of the sound booth that I could not really see what she was doing but I did hear her. When I got a foot up and balanced on the ledge just above the crowd I recognized her from last year's Dyke March. She had the girls going wild beating the shit out of one fucking drum. I remember her wearing a crown on her head and being surrounded by people waving Princess signs.


18 sec. (1.9MB) QT movie of Vitapup live at Meow Mix.
At that point I hadn't seen her with Vitapup yet. I have not, ever, seen a drummer put out that much energy from behind a kit. So when I saw her for the first time at Bessies in NC she blew me away. Not only is she a power drummer but she plays complex rhythms at the same time as she engages the crowd. When Melissa has something to say she comes out from behind the kit grabs a mic and does just that... walks off stage into the crowd and dances too. Ya, she's my drum crush of the moment.

I have known of Shiva Speedway since 1994 when we were putting out the zine, Drum Core. Pam sent us a copy of their 7" A-Train -- a split single with the band Quivvver on Harriet Records. Their name came up again when another drummer pal, Carolyn of Bald Guys also from Boston told me they were playing on the same bill earlier this year. Around the same time Pam came across our website and left me some e-mail.


She told me about the gig at Meow Mix...how convenient...couldn't be any closer to my house. It was great to see them live and to hear the new stuff. I really like their sound --two guitars and one kit. Pam builds such a full bottom that I didn't miss the bass at all. There's a great moment during the set when the drums and the guitars are doing a call and response thing. I can't get that sticking pattern out of my mind. The guitars truly sound like revving engines --speedway it is.


17 sec. (1.8MB) QT movie of Shiva Speedway live at Meow Mix.

We left the bands loading up their rental vans on their way to Philly and beyond to promote new releases. An Hour with Vitapup on Candy-Ass records and Shiva Speedway's new 7" on Echostatic. Don't miss these two drummers!

crude_rom makes -- the world takes