What's Up! Magazine

Sugar Sugar Sugar rocking on New Year's Eve, opening night of the Plan B Saloon. Photo by Elliot Johnston

Out with the old and in with the new. The old being The Rogue’and the new of course being Plan B. Saloon. At 9:30 the bar was so packed I had to catch Boss Rhino’s awesome set from the sidewalk. Once I got in I realized why, a new paint job and stage and some of Bellingham’s best bar workers made ‘Plan B’ the hottest spot for the night and definitely for many more to come.

The Cheeps took the stage to a packed house around 10:45 p.m. With their hard hitting short punk songs they made it obvious, Plan B. has become the new rock venue. On the sixth song of the set Leather Pants finally did some stage antics, even though he appeared a bit tired, the crowd loved him; and that’s what really matters. The Cheeps’ low fidelity sound was reminiscent of Danzig’s Misfits. Don’t let their punk moniker fool you they’re an incredibly tight 5 piece punk band. Good screams, distorted power chords, and cleverly timed cymbal stabs, coupled with perfect execution equals The Cheeps a great band.

With 30 minutes left of the decade, psychedelic garage rock band Sugar Sugar Sugar took the stage. Usually a three piece, tonight they had a saxophone player. The saving grace of this band is guitarist Chris Ecklund. His solid playing and vast knowledge of the instrument really makes the band work. Not to diminish the work of frontman Andy Piper and drummer Lupe Flores, but Chris’s sweet licks are the reason I listen. Andy has a reputation for being hit or miss with his vocals on any given night, but tonight he was a true “Rock’n'Rolla.”

At 11:59 the man, the myth, the one known as DJ Poops took the stage with Sugar Sugar Sugar to start the countdown. The clock struck midnight, lovers embraced, ‘Plan B.’ passed out free champagne, we drank to new beginnings and rocked out to the rich sounds of Sugar Sugar Sugar.

Only one band in Bellingham that could follow that, The All Nighters. The alter-egos of metal band FFA, consisting of Jimmy, Jeff, Eli and Gabe. They play so much that everyone wondered if they had any tricks up their sleeve. The first was getting ‘The Dirty Bird Cabaret’ to dance for most of their set. Jimmy’s lead guitar was precise and on point. The rhythm section, compiled of Eli and Gabe, gave him full credence play as he pleased, and all were pleased. Their long luxurious instrumental songs were just what this crowd needed to drink the night away, and that we did. During the set they brought up three guest vocalists. The first was Leather Pants, second was Poops, and for the last song of the night Flan O’Malley took the stage and sang Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf.” He killed it, only as Flan could, the crowd went nuts and ‘Plan B’ solidified itself as a mainstay.

Only a few spelling and punctuation errors, overall good feeling and did well at staying on topic of the show!