The Groovie Ghoulies at the Creepy Crawl. The show is like a match made in punk rock heaven. They, along with Captured! by Robots, the Dollyrots, and the Helper Monkeys played in St. Louis on November 3, 2005. The show was added at the last minute and was basically a late Halloween show. Boy, was the crowd in for a treat.

The Dollyrots played first. They are a 2/3's-and-female-fronted popish punk band from L.A. They are kinda like a riot grrl band, but with cute songs. They did a song for a HP commercial not too long ago if anyone remembers. Anyway, this is the second time I've seen them, and the first time, everything went wrong. It's nice to see in a good set where they are more into it. They had some pretty nice melodies and guitars and such. A really solid opening act. They have an album, Eat My Heart Out. Check them out.

The Helper Monkeys were next, and the only all-guy band of the night. They are from Sacramento, and have apparently been in a band together since they were twelve. I'm not gonna say they were bad, but I just couldn't get into them. It's like they couldn't decide if they wanted to be Good Charlotte or Underoath, so they just choose the worst of the two. They also had some glam or disco roots. Whatever. They put out the album No Release.

Then, the Groovie Ghoulies took the stage. While not the headliners, you could tell the crowd was here to see them. Hopefully, you all know the Ghoulies, but if not, they are a guy, his wife, and another girl who make up one of the quirkiest punk outfits around. They play short, catchy, fun-loving songs that are usually about horror movies. They just came out with a new album, Berry'D Alive, which is an all-Chuck Berry cover album. They have like ten or so other albums too.

The stage was decorated with all kinds of cool cardboard cut outs of vampires, mummies, and octopuses, and had a bunch of flashing neon lights. Not quite GWAR, but it still gets the idea across. They also threw candy into the crowd. As they played songs like "Let's All Do the Bat," "She's My Vampire Girl," "Pet Cemetery," and of course, "The Time Warp," people were dancing like crazy. Not moshing, or skanking, or circling, but actually dancing. The put a lot of energy into their short set, and it really paid off.

I didn't think the night could get any better. I was wrong. The final band was Captured! by Robots. I have never heard of these guys (well, not really guys) before, and apparently, neither did a lot of other people as the place emptied out a lot before they played. But those who stayed were not disappointed. The front-man was JBOT, who has been in Skanking Pickle and the Blue Meanies. As far as everyone else goes…they were robots. Real robots that actually played instruments. A guitar bot that played the double-axe, two drumbots, the Ape That Hath No Name and his son, and the headless hornmen. It is seriously something needed to be seen to be believed. And to top it all off, they were all dressed as "Star Trek" characters and he played an episode of the show in the background.

Their set was hilarious. Maybe you just need a special sense of humor to really enjoy it. JBOT, as Captain Prickhard, would talk with his follow robots using ventriloquism that would make both "Star Trek" and "South Park" fans happy. Their songs were really varied. They had some new wave (JBOT played the "Keytar"), some folk songs, and some which were straight up death metal. Most retained the Star Trek theme (I just about died at the lyrics of "Wesley Crusher, Fuck You" and "Data's Fully Functional," which is about Data's sex life) and sang Klingon Battle Hymns. And even when avoiding the Trekkie realm, he was still hilarious. C!BR has 4 albums and a live DVD out, and while they don't do the band justice, still worth checking out.

Sorry if I rambled a little too long, but this was some of the most fun I've ever had at a show. If these guys come to your town, you must see them.