The Cramps

by John Vettese

Rock/pop

Goth just isn't shocking anymore. For a long time it's been a sad and played-out commodity, something disaffected suburban teens buy over the counter at Hot Topic, stocking up on overpriced music and couture while lining the pockets of corporate bigwigs somewhere. Where, then, does that leave The Cramps, one of the genre's forebears? Listening to their new demos-and-live set How To Make A Monster (Vengeance) doesn't uncover anything we didn't already know about the legendary New York combo as much as it puts their legacy in proper perspective. The tinny tape-deck home recordings of "Domino" and "T.V. Set" from 1976 show that beyond their kinky garb, B-movie horror aesthetic and bad stage names, Lux Interior (Erik Lee Purkhiser) and Poison Ivy (Kristy Malana Wallace) had an admirable affinity for sweaty, blues-based early rock 'n' roll more so than their speed-freak punk counterparts. The live disc, featuring two complete sets from the band's heyday, further exhibits what a unruly happening their performances could be. Beer bottles can be heard breaking as a fight breaks out at a Max's Kansas City gig in '77, while a CBGB's show the following year is punctuated by incessant shrieking of fans before, during and after every song, as if The Cramps were the damn Beatles. "Take your pants off!" one woman requests of Lux repeatedly. It's unlikely that the aging frontman will receive such demands at the Troc Sunday, but the band's set should still remind old fans and new kids that there was once a time where Goth was an exciting bit of the cultural fringe, not something you could get at the mall.

Sun., Oct 10, 6:30 p.m., $20, with Gore Gore Girls and Jukebox Zeros, The Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-LIVE.