Captured by Robots conquer the Redwood stage

Legend tells of a genius musician who created a band of robots to perform with him but the robots revolted and after ripping out his intestines and eyes they forced the musician, now known as JBOT, to travel the world with them as their slave. Sounds a bit like the plot of a James Wan movie, huh? This incredible stage act is actually the brainchild of Jay Vance, former member of the Ska punk bands Blue Meanies and Skankin’ Pickle. Based in San Francisco, Captured by Robots features GTRBOT 666 (pictured with JBOT) on guitar and bass, DRMBOT 0110 on drums, two animated stuffed apes on cymbals and tambourine and an automated three-piece horn section called the Headless Hornsmen as well as the lone human member JBOT. They conquered the Redwood Bar stage on Friday, April 8 and amazed the packed house that turned up for the show. The robots rocked out on pre-programmed 70's covers and interacted with the audience and each other with uncanny precision.

Supporting the show were Sean & Zander, better known as Sean Wheeler, singer for Throwrag and Zander Schloss, bass player for seminal punk bands the Weirdos and Circle Jerks. With those credentials one might expect a raucous stage show but it’s quite the opposite. The acoustic duo of Sean and Zander present a set of folk-flavored songs that are downright pretty. They have an album out now called Walk Thee Invisible available on itunes. Opening that night was Cuntsparrer, an all-girl Cocksparrer tribute band. Cocksparrer are an East End London punk band who have been performing and recording sporadically since 1972 and Cuntsparrer put a Cuddle Core spin on their Oi! classics like "Running Riot" by playing with acoustic guitar, organ and a minimal drum kit. Cuntsparrer went over well with the Redwood crowd and it was surprising how many audience members knew the lyrics to the songs.