Now and then, a rock band comes along that delivers such a dynamic and unrelenting live performance that even the skeptical must eventually succumb to its raw power. A band that puts on a live show where crowd surfing isn’t just a possibility, but a foregone conclusion. For many fans of hard-driving psychedelic garage rock, Frankie and the Witch Fingers is such a band.
Formed in Indiana by Dylan Sizemore (vocals/guitar) and Josh Menashe (guitar/vocals/synth) and now residing in Los Angeles, Frankie and the Witch Fingers have been steadily writing and creating for the better part of a decade, piling up releases of psychedelic punk anthems and using them as building blocks for their already legendary live performances. Now, with Nicole “Pickle” Smith (bass) and Nick Aguilar (drums) fully dissolved into the psychedelic rock cauldron, the Witch Fingers are a force to be reckoned with, and ultimately, as evidenced by the Tuesday night crowd at Portland, Oregon’s Doug Fir Lounge, surrendered to.
Opening with the title track to 2017’s Sidewalk, the Witch Fingers moved through a few of their earlier songs before offering up 2021’s “Cookin’” followed by their most recent release, “Electricide.” From there, the band leaned into a trio of tunes from 2019 album ZAM, and closed their set with a group of rockers from 2020’s Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters…
In sticking with the monster theme, John Spinney, frontman of opening act Monsterwatch, was invited out for the encore to share vocal duties on a roar through The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” Both he and Sizemore literally jumped in on the crowd surfing action.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers have played larger venues, and have opened for OSEES, Cheap Trick, and ZZ Top. It was a treat to get to see them at the 299 capacity Doug Fir. They close out the current tour in California this weekend, and will play in Seattle on March 4th with Viagra Boys.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, Oregon, 2023.1.31
Sidewalk, Burn Me Down, Cocaine Dream, Cookin’, Electricide, Dracula Drug, Work, Realization, Reaper, Sweet Freak, Cavehead, MEPEM
Encore: I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges)
