It is apparent as we arrive that The Lost Boys is a seminal coming-of-age film to more goths and their familiars than those —ahem — of a certain age. Though not sold out, The Great American is full of stylish vampires of all ages, my partner and myself included. The 1987 Schumacher Peter Pan/Anne Rice mashup maintains a certain cultural currency as evinced by a thirty year reunion back in 2019 featuring the full living cast.
Tonight features a more modest guest list — a fit Alex Winter and a near manic Timmy Capello, second-string vampire and scene-stealing shirtless saxman — the Red Room Orchestra lineup is fire. This is a blessing because when we dust off the Lost Boys Soundtrack CD, we find an abbreviated list of ten tracks representing not a post-punk goth masterpiece but a schizophrenic mash-up of late eighties pop distractions, from INXS regrettably twice-dipping into Aussie pub-rock, to late-career solo forays by Foreigner’s Lou Grahm and the Who’s Roger Daltrey, to the residual 50’s rock n’ roll hangover that plagued that decade. The unauthorized list containing all the film’s tracks is just as bewildering, including the Run DMC/Aerosmith hip-hop crossover, “Walk This Way.” We rightly remember the high points: Echo and the Bunnymen covering “People Are Strange,” Gerard McMann’s standout “Cry Little Sister,” and, of course, Tim Capello’s sweaty and inexplicable cover of Christian rock band The Fall’s “I Still Believe.”
As always, Red Room Orchestra bandleader Marc Capelle deserves accolades as arranger and, I would assume, team assembler. He set back and let the performers shine. The Red Room Supergroup was stalwart Allyson Baker understatedly shredding on lead guitar, Larry Mullins of the Bad Seeds on keys and percussion, comedian/musician Dave Hill on rhythm guitar, Michael Urbano on drums, and local scene-maker DJ Omar Perez filling in with loops and clips. Without prelude, they warmed up the crowd with a few bars of “Cry Little Sister,” the Lost Boys Theme, before Tom Ayers channeled the lizard king via Ian McCulloch to remind us that people are, in fact, strange, as if the present company was, not emblematic. The Orchestra swung right into the distorted calliope funhouse horror “To the Shock of Miss Louise,” and with that, we were transported down the coast to the boardwalk of Santa Carla — the inverted twin hamlet of Santa Cruz— prowled not by hippie beach bums burnt out on heroin, but by the undead, blood-drunk and earthquake-sunk.
We know where we are.
But the vampire Marco (Alex Winter) cozies up to the front of the stage to remind us. Crowding sixty, he looks great and affably regals us with some personal Lost Boys trivia before introducing the next act. It took every ounce of willpower not to cry out the unrelated quote that I actually apply liberally to my life and philosophy (figure it out). Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of Mr. Winter. Incidentally, it is unfair that this writer/director/actor of stage and screen is known almost exclusively for this film and the Bill & Ted Franchise. He is quite accomplished. Although I do hope he takes heart in the joy these pop offerings give to so many.
When the second big guest star of the night saxophoned onto the stage (that’s right, I used saxophone as a verb), I was concerned that the night was too heavily front-loaded. Not quite shirtless but plenty buff, oiled, ponytailed, and be-chained, Timmy Capello was honestly what everyone was waiting for, and he happily knew it. “I Still Believe (Great Design)” is the WTF anthem that I believe made the Lost Boys such a memorable cultural phenomenon. In the film, it is the punctuation between the first and second thirds of the film: the domestic narrative of a single mom relocating her two sons to live with their cantankerous grandfather in a new town from the perspective of the younger brother Sam, into the underworld narrative introducing us to the gang of vampires through the perspective of the older brother Michael. Hips pumping, sax thrusting, Capello frantically pied pipered us into that underworld, literally working his way out into and through the crowd. Although written by Santa Cruz rocker Michael Been, the song is indelibly associated with Capello. On-screen and in person, it really is something to see.
The saxman stayed on stage for the next song and returned throughout the remainder of the evening. He was joined by Bay Area rocker Brad Brooks, in lounge lizard mode, all shag, popped collar, and Joe cool shades. Brooks’s seductions were more…subtle – an only lovers left alive type vampire. Backed by vocal powerhouses Lydia Walker and Meryl Theo Press, he salvaged the Eddie and the Tide (of Berkeley) track, “Powerplay,” the quintessence of forgettable 80’s soundtrack schlock. As would be a template for the remainder of the night, lesser material is elevated by superior performance.
Brooks slunk offstage and was replaced by SF iconoclast Eugene S Robinson who is obliquely filling the role of Kiefer Sutherland’s David, leader of the vampire dirt-bike gang. Robinson fills the role with equal charisma and menace, leaning out over us for the Mummy Calls cover, “Beauty Has Her Way.” Mummy Calls were a flash-in-the-pan new romantic outfit whose lead singer looked like Birthday Party-era Nick Cave-lite. The Wikipedia description of Robinson under his band Oxbow says the following “On Fuckfest “Robinson howls in a high-pitched, anguished voice somewhere between Robert Plant and Birthday Party-era Nick Cave, although his lyrics sound incomprehensible.” So there’s that. The original song was goth for middle school dances. Here, it graduates to high school and then gets kicked out to an alternative school.
Robinson dissolved in smoke or turned into a bat or something, and the Lounge Lizard returned for a spirited run through the Merseybeat track “Good Times,” by Aussie band the Easybeats as played by INXS and Jimmy Barnes in the film, to punctuate the end of the middle act.
Bassist/local personality Chaki the Funk Wizard came forward for “Ain’t Got No Home,” Clarence “Frogman” Henry’s semi-novelty song. We are reminded of the younger brother and his new friend, the Frog Brothers, adolescent vampire hunters made aware of the perilous initiation Michael is about to embark upon.
San Francisco’s legendary Peaches Christ appears as Star, the reluctant ingenue of the vampire crew, and the transformative subterranean hotel scene is played for laughs rather than high gothic romance. “You’re eating maggots, Michael,” Chaki plays Michael. Meryl and Lydia get to come forward for “Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Boys),” a formless Foreigner track that drives fine for a soundtrack but doesn’t stand much on its own. It doesn’t matter; we all know that it’s background to helmetless dirt bikes through the fog, bridge-hanging dares, falling into a chasm of mist and surviving, and waking up to a two-buck-chuck hangover.
Brooks joins the full stage for a real run-through of “Cry Little Sister.” You can sing along. We all did:
Cry, little sister – Thou shall not fall
Come, come to your brother – Thou shall not fly
Unchain me, sister – Thou shall not fear
Love is with your brother – Thou shall not kill
And just like that, ten short tracks later, Marc Capelle announces that the film is over and the soundtrack is complete. We are all a little shocked. Perhaps a disappointment similar to the purchase of the abbreviated soundtrack back in ’89. But wait, above the stage…is it…it can’t be… it’s our saxman! Understatedly out of character, a plaintive horn climbs a few bars of Mexican traditional “La Cucaracha.” The night is yet over! The unauthorized soundtrack is being bootlegged for us.
Brad and Lydia trade vocals on “Walk This Way.”
A new face, Maisy Straus, sings Rodger Daltrey singing George Michael singing Elton John.
Meryl sings goddam Tina Turner’s “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome).” Why? I’ll tell you why. Go to YouTube and look up Tina Live with Timmy Capello to see some very public, practically NSF performances. Of course, our shimmering saxman is back on stage to accompany. This is peak.
The band is introduced whilst playing Bauhaus’ goth anthem “Bela Lugosi’s Dead,” but everyone remains right side up.
Timmy Capello plays himself through the crowd and out like a champ with “Tequila,” and the Red Room Orchestra plays us out with “Groovin’” like a bunch of rascals, reminding us that all ends well, and Santa Carla is not such a bad place after all if you can stomach all the damned vampires.
Setlist:
Cry Little Sister (Gerard McMann cover) (Brief instrumental intro)
People Are Strange (The Doors cover) (with Tom Ayres)
To the Shock of Miss Louise (Thomas Newman cover)
I Still Believe (Great Design)(The Call cover) (with Tim Cappello) (Introduced by Alex Winter)
Power Play (Eddie and the Tide cover) (with Brad Brooks) (sax: Tim Cappello)
Beauty Has Her Way(Mummy Calls cover) (with Eugene Robinson)
Good Times (The Easybeats cover) (Vocals: Brad & Lydia)
Ain’t Got No Home (Clarence “Frogman” Henry cover) (Vocals: Chaki the Funk Wizard)
Lost in the Shadows (The Lost Boys) (Lou Gramm cover) (Vocals: Meryl Theo Press)
Cry Little Sister (Gerard McMann cover) (with Brad Brooks)
La cucaracha ([traditional] cover) (with Tim Cappello) (Sax)
Walk This Way (Aerosmith cover) (Vocals: Brad & Lydia)
Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Elton John cover) (Vocals: Maisy Straus)
We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) (Tina Turner cover) (Vocals: Meryl Theo Press; Sax: Tim)
Bela Lugosi’s Dead (Bauhaus cover) (with Dave Hill) (followed by band introductions)
Tequila (The Champs cover) (with Tim Cappello)
Groovin’ (The Rascals song)
