There's never really been more than one degree of separation between the creation of visual art and the making of music. Unfortunately, separation of art and money has always been a consistent, shall we say, motif? In what promises to be an evening of truly appropriate bedfellows, Hamtramck's Motor Lounge will host an evening of Detroit's musical Special Reserve to benefit this summer's Hamtramck Art Festival (which will be held August 16 & 17). The socially lubricated-via-martini benefit rock bonanza kicks off with the debut of the Herschel Gordon Lewis-endorsed girl-girl-boy punk pop attack of the Gore, Gore Girls.
The evening then proceeds directly to the hard stuff when those masters of mental and musical gymnastics, the Electric Six (formerly The Wildbunch) (pictured) comandeer the lounge's "stage." The Bunch's Hunter S. Thompson-on-bad-fashion advice stage presence should force more than one partygoer to question just exactly how cool the whole "lounge revival" noise is. Musically, though, the Electric Six (formerly The Wildbunch)'s take on man-machine-melding paranoia (not only do their originals cover this turf, but their cover of Kraftwerk's "Model" actually manages to equal the original's spooky detachment) will leave your brain just massaged enough to fully handle what lies ahead. What lies ahead, dear cocktail sipper, is Medusa Cyclone. The Cyclone's live show wrestles the audience through the wormhole into the parallel universe to which MC's records merely hint. Think about it: all this musical adventure for only $5 and those five bones will be spent on perpetuating a fantastic reason to look forward to August, the Ham-sandwich Art Festival. What are you doing Thursday night? Motor Lounge is at 3515 Caniff. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the party don't stop till the shakers stop shaking. Call 313-871-0368 for more info.--Chris Handyside