One Eye Open A Sight To See With Raucous Show At Ichabod’s

There is something terribly puzzling about One Eye Open.

Either the band hails from a distant planet or its members fled the looney bin.

Wherever they’re from, One Eye Open is, without a doubt, a twisted bunch.

This band of raging lunatics possesses a menacing sound that turns the average listener’s brain into Cream of Wheat.

Like a child with a messy diaper - an appropriate metaphor for a band obsessed with bodily excretions - One Eye Open can’t sit still musically. The band has a penchant for shifting in out of styles like fellow nuisances Mr. Bungle, Fishbone and Schlong.

In a two-minute span, the band can move from punk to ska to funk to hardcore to reggae and, by some miracle, find its way back to punk again.

Just imagine four guys sauced up on some cheap beer filling a crock pot with a mix of styles, bringing the mixture to a boil and just watching it all roil over the edge.

One Eye Open is recklessly spontaneous and they make quite a welcome mess while they play.

But seriously, One Eye Open has existed in one form or another in Fullerton, Calif., for five years.

This year, the band finally seems to be gaining some headway in the underground. The four-piece combo released an EP of TV commercials and theme songs on Spokane’s Too Many Records titled “Boobs: The Incomplete Set,” a primarily ska split LP with Janitors Against Apartheid Called “Nerds” and a CD named “Hellaut” on a small indie.

In sum, if you want to check out a band that stretches the boundaries of eclecticism like no other rock band, go see One Eye Open Saturday night.

Joining the band are Big Comb, Fatty Lumpkin and Sanchez. Sadly, it’s the Big Comb’s final local performance. Ironically, the Spokane trio’s take on amphetamine-laced rock finally clicked.

Why is it that many of Spokane’s good bands break up prematurely with little fanfare?

The cover for Saturday is $4. Music starts at 9:30 p.m.

Psychedelic battery

If a book is ever written about influential Seattle bands the rest of America never heard, a whole chapter should be devoted to Love Battery.

At the onslaught of grunge, Love Battery was one of the bands carrying the torch. The psychedelic rock combo plays Ichabod’s tonight.

The band was also one of the handful of Seattle combos that turned a tiny, struggling label named Sub Pop into a multi-million-dollar business.

For Sub Pop, the band produced a two singles and three albums, including 1991’s “Day Glo” and 1993’s “Far Gone.”

In 1994, the quartet signed to A&M/Atlas and released an EP titled “Nehru Jacket” and an LP called “Straight Freak Ticket.” Although the latter release was Love Battery’s strongest album, it failed to crack the mainstream.

Maybe their next record will.

Similar to its cohorts, Love Battery builds its lush sound around a dense rhythm section and a wall of guitars. Screaming Trees fans, take notice.

Some pointless trivia about Love Battery: Jason Finn of the Presidents of the United States of America was a longtime member of the guitar unit.

Boycott opens at 10 p.m. The cover is $4.

Local legend leads Legend

One of the area’s hardest working bands, Legend, will be joined by Los Angeles-based drummer Glenn Symmonds for its gigs at Bolo’s tonight and Saturday and at Thudpuckers Tuesday through Thursday.

Symmonds, originally from the Lilac City, ventured out of the Northwest to pursue percussion. Throughout his prolific career, the drummer has formed or played in several noteworthy bands and worked as a session musician.

Symmonds was once the percussive ingredient to ‘80s L.A. ska darlings, the Untouchables. The Untouchables never quite achieved the commercial success it perhaps deserved, but it inspired legions of other bands to follow in its wake.

He and former members of the Untouchables have just thrown together a ska-punk outfit appropriately called Skunk. That band makes its debut at the legendary Whiskey A-Go-Go later this month.

Symmonds also beat the skins for Eddie Money for a number of years, accompanying the singer on dozens of tours around the world.

Naturally, with the addition of Symmonds for the next couple of weeks, you can expect Legend to delve deeper into ska and reggae.

You can read more about Symmonds and Legend next Friday in this column.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Nightwatch picks: Best bets at area clubs: TONIGHT: Love Battery and Boycott at Ichabod’s North; Legend at Bolo’s SATURDAY: One Eye Open and Big Comb at Ichabod’s North; Legend at Bolo’s