I have spent more years than not on this planet an intensely passionate fan of BLUE OYSTER CULT. They provided most of the background music to the events of my life as they unfolded. So when Albert Bouchard formed THE BRAIN SURGEONS it felt almost as if this force that keeps my musical soul going from day to day had split like an important stock and doubled itself for its investors. So what better way was there to celebrate my 35th birthday than by seeing BLUE OYSTER CULT play live a week before, and THE BRAIN SURGEONS play a few days after.

Like I said, sometimes I am the luckiest kid in the world.

I arrived at THE HAUNT in Ithaca, NY a few hours before the bands really started slapping it around, and was treated to the sounds of the Surgeons (minus guitarist Billy Hilfiger) warming up the equipment and their muscles. Standing there at point blank range listening to them play in a bar that was (not to sound pessimistic) more empty than full, I started feeling like I was being treated to a private gig by one of my favorite bands, something every kid often dreams of. The Surgeons sounded scrubbed, prepped and ready to start slicing, although there was a blatant hole in the sound where Billy Hilfiger's guitar normally would be, and I knew that at full complement they were going to be on fire once again.

10 Pm saw STATIC CLING take the stage and start things off nicely. STATIC CLING is basically Helen Wheels's band... without Helen. They played an impressive set and were then joined by Helen, who jammed through several of the songs that appeared on her new "Archetype" CD that was being released that night. Helen, a pumped up Mighty Mouse of a presence on stage, set the mood right for what was to follow.

With all five of THE BRAIN SURGEONS in the house, they took the stage and slammed their way through a set that was full of nice surprises. The sound was loud, crisp, and clear with plenty of space between each instrument's sound. Guitarist Billy Hilfiger exploded onto the stage wearing a bizarre looking object over his head, which he later explained was what "they use to hold down your head when you don't want it held down". Looking much like a High Priest from a cult that worships the Nerf basketball hoop, it showed the humorous side of this band that always seems to be having a good time playing for us. When a band has fun, the audience has fun, and the Brain Surgeons were having BIG fun.

The set list, jam-packed with unexpected songs, went roughly like so:

Name Your Monster
Stairway to the Stars
My Civilization
The Revenge of Vera Gemini
Date with a Guitar
St. Vitus Dance
The Red and the Black
Needle Gun
I am the One You Warned Me Of
Dominance and Submission
Niagara Falls
Tattoo Vampire
Cities on Flame
I Play the Drums

Many BOC/Surgeons fanatics reading this are probably already as surprised by some of these songs as I was when they core-drilled my head with them at the show. Before launching into "Stairway to the Stars" , Albert introduced the song as one of the very first he ever wrote with BOC, which had a special place in his heart. I myself would never have chosen the song as something I thought I might like to hear The Brain Surgeons do, but they did a phenomenal version of it, possibly one of the best versions of it I have ever heard.

The highlight of the show for me was the inclusion of "The Revenge of Vera Gemini". This song, which for a long time now has had to carry the responsibility of being my absolute favorite Blue Oyster Cult song, is one that Brain Surgeons fans have been begging the band to play for a long time. Like the eerie meshing of the voices of Albert Bouchard and Patti Smith on the BOC version, Albert and vocalist Deb Frost sounded, as always, perfect together. Being new to the Surgeons set list, there were of course some minor confusion in the lyrics. This only seemed to heighten the sense of merriment that the Brain Surgeons have while jamming on-stage. In fact, during the thunderous rumblings of "Needle Gun", Deb screwed up a verse so bad that she held out the microphone to a fellow Brain Surgeons fanatic named Jason and suggested that he "probably knew the words alot better than her". A cheer went through the crowd as Jason, without hesitation I might add, grabbed the mic and started singing. This kind of one on one with the people that love their music, both on-stage and off, is what makes the Brain Surgeons such a class act to see live.

During "The Red and the Black", another song that I never expected The Brain Surgeons to have a go at, Albert vaulted from his drummer's perch and grabbed a guitar, joining his bandmates up front. For years BOC had entertained it's fans with it's trademark "5 guitars", and like "The Revenge of Vera Gemini", it was something the Brain Surgeons fans had always wanted to see their band do. Five guitarists lined up on a stage and just wailing away is truly spectacular to behold, and a unique sound altogether. Not thinking the show could get any better than that, I was somewhat awestruck when Albert Bouchard made his way down off the stage with his guitar and tucked into a tight ball of energy and worked it for all it was worth... a mere 10 inches away from me! The floor was pretty opened up and most of the people in the bar were hanging back, so here I was standing center ring in the Surgeon's three ring circus of wonders, watching a guy whose albums I would save up pennies to buy as a kid play guitar like he was possessed by the spirit of Hendrix! The hair stands up on my neck when I think of it now. Whoops, there they go again.

It was towards the end of the set that Helen Wheels returned to the stage to jam with The Brain Surgeons. Helen and Deb seemed to really have a good time together and Helen fit nicely in the Surgeons lineup. Starting off with a song called "Niagara Falls" off her newly released CD, it was a treat to my then throbbing head to hear them slide into the Helen Wheels written BOC classic "Tattoo Vampire". Starting off with it's unique "waka waka waka" guitar that every BOC fan knows so well, Helen jammed and strutted and showed off her own tattoos (and biceps) through a howling rendition of this intense song.

It was the end of the set and the end of the night and the crowd didn't want to see the Surgeons leave yet. As tired and soaked as they were in the overly warm atmosphere, they asked the crowd what they wanted to hear. Several voices rose up (including my own) and called out "I Play the Drums", knowing that what would follow would be more than just a quick tune and a hasty departure. Albert's trademark "drum solo' song snapped and crashed as he did what only he can do on a small drum kit. I guess you could say that the entire world is Albert's drum kit, as he soon leaped from his seat once again and played nearly every "smackable" surface in the bar. At one point he even disappeared out the door only to come back in and towards the stage with his guns a-blazing.

A Brain Surgeons gig is something that no human being with any sense of what is fun and what is lame can not help but have a good time at. They amaze musically, they entertain happily, and they always give 100% of themselves, never holding anything back. This was the third Brain Surgeons show for me, and one that had it's own unique flavor and feel. There were times when I swore that they were doing it all just for me and me alone.

Like I said, sometimes I am the luckiest kid in the world.